American Empire : Past, Present, and Future

Abstract: This essay examines the past, present, and future of the American Empire. America is an empire, and its actions during the last half century have been indicative of such. Like all great empires, America seems set to decline due to a multitude of factors. I will find the reasons for this decline by examing the course of events from the end of World War II up until the present day. By taking these factors into account, I will make predictions as to what the possible future of the American Empire might be. The thesis is divided up into three separate but inter-connected sections that focus on American foreign policy. The first part focuses on the past of the American empire, and takes a critical stance toward American expansionism during the Cold War period until the arrival of the Bush administration. The second section examines the present of the American Empire, and explains such phenomenon as the Bush doctrine, the Iraq War, and the War on Terror. The last section of the thesis makes predictions as to what the future of the American empire might be, building its diagnosis upon the foundations set by the previous two sections.