page_title: American imperialism
section_title: Political debate after September 11, 2001
hierarchical_section_title: American imperialism / Views of American imperialism / Political debate after September 11, 2001
caption_attribution_description: English: Raising American Flag at United States Annexation Ceremony at ʻIolani Palace, Honolulu, Hawaii. The American marines performing the ceremony are from the USS Philadelphia. Collection: Ray Jerome Baker Collection.
context_page_description: American imperialism consists of policies aimed at extending the political, economic, and cultural influence of the United States over areas beyond its boundaries. Depending on the commentator, it may include military conquest, gunboat diplomacy, unequal treaties, subsidization of preferred factions, economic penetration through private companies followed by intervention when those interests are threatened, or regime change.
  The policy of imperialism is usually considered to have begun in the late 19th century, though some consider territorial expansion at the expense of Native Americans to be similar enough to deserve the same term. The federal government of the United States has never referred to its territories as an empire, but some commentators refer to it as such, including Max Boot, Arthur Schlesinger, and Niall Ferguson. The United States has also been accused of neocolonialism, sometimes defined as a modern form of hegemony, which uses economic rather than military power, and sometimes used as a synonym for contemporary imperialism.
context_section_description: Following the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the idea of American imperialism was re-examined. In November 2001, jubilant marines hoisted an American flag over Kandahar and in a stage display referred to the moment as the third after those on San Juan Hill and Iwo Jima. All moments, writes Neil Smith, express U.S. global ambition. "Labelled a war on terrorism, the new war represents an unprecedented quickening of the American Empire, a third chance at global power."
  On October 15, 2001, the cover of Bill Kristol's Weekly Standard carried the headline, "The Case for American Empire". Rich Lowry, editor in chief of the National Review, called for "a kind of low-grade colonialism" to topple dangerous regimes beyond Afghanistan. The columnist Charles Krauthammer declared that, given complete U.S. domination "culturally, economically, technologically and militarily", people were "now coming out of the closet on the word 'empire'". The New York Times Sunday magazine cover for January 5, 2003, read "American Empire: Get Used To It". The phrase "American empire" appeared more than 1000 times in news stories during November 2002 – April 2003.
caption: Ceremonies during the annexation of the Republic of Hawaii, 1898
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