Do the Current Accusations of Pax-Americana Have Any Resonances with Colonialism And/or Imperialism of the Past?

Do the current accusations of pax-Americana have any resonances with colonialism and/or Imperialism of the past?

Introduction

In this paper, it will be established that the power of the United States in the world today has similarities to the imperialistic and colonial powers of the past. A further analysis into the more modern threats and dangers of having a political power such as the United States achieving such an ironclad grip on global politics and international relations will help establish the true nature and threats of a modern Imperialistic empire.

As a state that champions itself as the upholder of civil liberties, freedoms and rights, the United States has evolved to become a ‘global superpower’ whose sphere of imperialistic power has encompassed the world’s impoverished and weaker states with political and economical force. The term ‘imperialism’ has been defined as “the policy of extending the control or authority over foreign entities and/or maintenance of empires”. (reference) Through territorial expansion or by “exerting control on the politics or economies of other countries” (reference) an empire such as the British would fit the ‘Imperialist’ classification in most respects. The current Bush administration has been accused of “neo-imperialistic” motives (Janowski, 2004) and intentions due to its strategically marshalled political alliances and foreign policies in an effort to further its own national interests and maintain its sovereignty on a global front. The use of fear and global threats such as terrorism have united its people and created one of the most powerful empires in modern history. Threatening to etch itself on the face of history as the most great and dominant imperialistic ‘empires’, the intimidation tactics used by the United States’ government have helped it gain a political and economical stronghold on subordinate states. The impending threat of the United States obtaining global power over weaker states so as to exploit natural resources for economic and political gain is a very serious one, with ‘Third World’ nations being forced into a violent cycle of civil conflict, poverty and financial deprivation as a direct result. It will be established in the following arguments that the United States has employed strategic political control over economies of