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In this striking analysis of American global dominance, Lipschutz (Global Politics as if People Mattered) explores the formal and unwritten rules behind what he regards as an economic and political hegemony of unprecedented scope. This American-guided 'Imperium' (as opposed to just empire, which for Lipschutz carries misleadingly limited territorial connotations) is a 'mechanism of global discipline and order' that, while centered in Washington, incorporates various centers of state and suprastate power-including allied governments and institutions like NATO and the WTO. Its roots run far back, but it advanced considerably in practical and formal ways post-9/11, when the Bush administration declared what German political theorist Carl Schmitt called a state of 'exception' to expand the sovereign authority of the executive, buttressed by a global economic system founded on the dollar. This is a fascinating and vital addition to literature on globalization, empire, citizenship and international law; a sure bet for readers interested in the true limits of, and prospects for, 'change' in a new American administration.
-Publishers Weekly
Ronnie Lipschutz demonstrates wonderfully how U.S. unilateralism and rule-by-exception-which has dominated in many respects the political life of the first decade of the new millennium, both nationally and globally- have broad and deep roots in 20th century U.S. history. The legacies and ruins of these policies will seriously constrain post-Bush politics in the United States and throughout the world.
-Michael Hardt, co-author of Empire and Multitude
A lucid and valuable analysis of the roots and growing threat of imperial power. This book packs a nice scholarly punch on behalf of democracy.
-Michael Parenti, author of Against Empire and Democracy for the Few