Op-Ed: The American Empire

Darren Huang and Jason Lim

5/26/20

America’s history is defined by its quest for expansion: the thirteen colonies secured their

land by seizing the East Coast, Manifest Destiny was realized in the 1800s, and modern times

have seen America expand into foreign countries and markets. As evidenced by its imperial

legacy and continuation of such actions, America has clearly shown its status as an empire.

Historically, “empire” has been defined in unclear terms, perhaps fittingly so. Academics

have danced around the issue because the definition of empire itself depends on how society

understands power. To a primarily agricultural society in the early days of human civilization, an

empire might be the group that controls the supply of grain. On the other hand, a contest for land

would be dictated by military power and transportational superiority, like the British Empire.

However, in the modern era, globalization has allowed for an emergence of real “empires” that

exert their power beyond their local regions. The definition of the term is still contested. But, as

the world has become smaller, the term “empire” has gotten bigger, implying multifaceted

influences. A modern empire must meet the following criteria: its economy must be great enough

that a majority of the world depends on it, its military must be able conduct unilateral invasions

without repercussion from others, and it must exert enough political influence that other

countries would rather align with it than oppose it. Based on this definition, there is little doubt

that America is an empire.

Donald Rumsfeld, the former secretary of defense, claims that America is not an empire

because “we don’t take our force and go around the world to take other people’s real estate or

other people’s resources”. Rumsfeld’s statement represents those that view empires through

expansion, and we disagree with him because the U.S does take other people’s resources: most
notably, through acquiring foreign talent and importing trillions of dollars’ worth of goods every

year. Every major power is dependent on the American economy through trade deals and the

flow of goods and services. We even export our culture, most notably through Western media,

big tech products, and Hollywood glam. America is not at fault for dominating others' culture. It

is simply a function of the American empire.

The world runs on the dollar, and thus, our economy pervades every corner of the world.

Most recently, the Federal Reserve opened 14 emergency pipelines to exchange billions of

dollars with other countries during the massive liquidity crisis that has sprung up in the midst of

the COIVD-19 pandemic. As NPR puts it, “Dollars are the lynchpin of global trade”. Foreign

banks require dollars for almost any financial transaction because they don’t accept any other

collateral. Without exaggerating, the Fed refusing to act as the world’s bank would literally cause

the world economy to shut down overnight. Such a reliance on the dollar is perhaps the greatest

example of our definition of the American empire: the American economy is so influential that

the majority of the world depends on it.

In terms of military power, America’s position is uncontested. However the American

empire should not be viewed solely through apparent military strength. Rather, the military

power should be contextualized through the extent to which it can act without severe

repercussions. This was clearly demonstrated in the Operation Desert Shield, also known as the

Gulf War. During the war, American empire showed the world its military might, crushing

Sadaam Huessin’s ambition in less than a year. For the American empire, it didn't have much to

worry about--the military and economy was strong, and the idea of being attacked on homeland

or getting economic sanctions were highly improbable. Thirty years later, the Empire still stands

strong. Without severe repercussions to worry about, the empire still orders airstrikes and drone
attacks to contain threats to its power, sends aircraft carriers to conflicted regions, and operates

800 bases around the globe.

The military power and strong economy also give the American empire a political

advantage on the world’s stage. In fact, the US will take any measures to maintain its empire.

Since the World War II era, the US has been involved in more than 80 covert and overt regimes

changes. The attempts range from simply funding and providing political support for the

opposition party of the regime it wants to throw over to trying to poison the leader of the

country. Even today, the U.S continues regime change like in Venezuela by publicly supporting

the opposition party leader Juan Guaido. On a slightly different political scene, the US is also

pressuring the World Health Organization (WHO) by threatening to cut funding to retaliate

against the WHO’s biased acts favoring China. These political influences are marks of the

American empire.

The American economy and military make the U.S the central player on the world stage.

Moreover, America has leveraged its status to expand its influence globally. By examining

America through its actions and status taken abroad, it becomes clear that America is an empire.