Why are you the only folks in denial of empire? Does the thought of being a cheerleader for imperialism sound, un-democratic? “No need to run away from the label,” argues Max Boot, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York: “America's destiny is to police the world.”

Illusions of Empire: Defining the New American Order (Foriegn Affairs)
The American Empire: The very phrase sounds like a contradiction in terms. The land of the free tethered to the realms of Alexander, ancient Rome and redcoats on the march; the home of the brave bound to a word synonymous with a stranglehold on power.">Illusions of Empire: Defining the New American Order by G. John Ikenberry (Foreign Affairs)
Summary: From Washington to Baghdad, the debate over American empire is back. Five new books weigh in, some celebrating the imperial project as the last best hope of humankind, others attacking it as cause for worry. What they all fail to understand is that U.S. power is neither as great as most claim nor as dangerous as others fear.

Manifest Destiny Warmed Up? (The Economist)
WHAT is the shelf-life of an idea? Just a few short months ago, the talk—and not just in Washington, DC—was of empire, America's that is. Even before the invasion of Iraq, pundits of all stripes were casting aside their coyness to proclaim that America was the latest imperial power to bestride the world. Today, with tribulations besetting the new Romans in both Afghanistan and Iraq, their most recent conquests, the chorus has died down, but the idea is far from dead. Too many people have invested too much in it.

For several years, after all, commentators have been announcing the discovery of an American empire. Books and articles have poured forth, professors and pundits have pondered the implications— and a surprising number have welcomed the new role. “No need to run away from the label,” argues Max Boot, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York: “America's destiny is to police the world.”