The Imperial Republic after 9/11

America’s global dominance prompts popular references to a latter-day Roman Empire. Transcending the Cold War rubric "superpower," "hyperpower" has entered our political lexicon to convey the magnitude of the United States’ paramount international status. But though American power has never been greater, there has never been greater confusion about what to do with it.

The current U.S. foreign-policy debate--typically framed across a broad range of issues as the choice between unilateralism ("going it alone") and multilateralism (working in concert with others states)--is a reflection, not the source, of this confusion. The roots of the confusion lie rather in the persisting tension between America’s twin identities, a duality aptly characterized by French political theorist Raymond Aron in _The Imperial Republic_ (1973). The United States is an "imperial" power dominating and maintaining an international order whose key institutions and governing norms bear an indelibly American stamp. At the same time, it’s a "republic"--that is to say, a sovereign state existing within a system of sovereign states equal under international law. The tension created by the two identities, which American policymakers can manage but not totally resolve, has important practical consequences. For example, should the United States act to uphold the global norm against genocide in a conflict region where its national interests are not tangibly at stake? Or, again, should it use unilateral force to prevent a "rogue state" from acquiring weapons of mass destruction?

#### To continue reading, please click Download PDF, above.