Popular National Sovereignty and the U.S. Empire
In the 1960s, the left branded US imperialism the major enemy of social justice in the world. Such talk faded after the war against Vietnam and almost disappeared after communism fell in Eastern Europe. Its not that the American brand of informal empire disappeared. It continued through US influence...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
2015-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of World-Systems Research |
| Online Access: | http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/386 |
| _version_ | 1819027415732584448 |
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| author | Gordon Laxer |
| author_facet | Gordon Laxer |
| author_sort | Gordon Laxer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the 1960s, the left branded US imperialism the major enemy of social justice in the world. Such talk faded after the war against Vietnam and almost disappeared after communism fell in Eastern Europe. Its not that the American brand of informal empire disappeared. It continued through US influences on other states policies, the sway of US corporations abroad on host governments, US military power, and the power of the Washington-based financial institutions. But, the discourse changed and raged around the softer term globalization. In the past few years, imperialism talk has roared back, led this time by the political right, who gave it a positive sheen. Some on the left have joined in too, in an exciting new literature, revising Marxist and Leninist critiques of imperialism. But, much of the political left and centre are still mired in aspirations for cosmopolitanism, which inadvertently obscure struggles for popular and national sovereignty. This paper examines the limits of cosmopolitanism for democracy, critiques the nature of US power, and discusses how a reasserted US empire has sparked the revival of nationalisms by looking at the cases of nationalism in the six top oil-exporting countries to the US. The paper concludes with inquiries into people-to-people internationalism and whether citizen-based democracy is possible without sovereignty. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T05:42:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dedbafb69b244b5ca6cf77da76444494 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1076-156X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T05:42:07Z |
| publishDate | 2015-08-01 |
| publisher | University Library System, University of Pittsburgh |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of World-Systems Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-dedbafb69b244b5ca6cf77da764444942022-12-21T19:14:14ZengUniversity Library System, University of PittsburghJournal of World-Systems Research1076-156X2015-08-0111231735310.5195/jwsr.2005.386380Popular National Sovereignty and the U.S. EmpireGordon Laxer0University of AlbertaIn the 1960s, the left branded US imperialism the major enemy of social justice in the world. Such talk faded after the war against Vietnam and almost disappeared after communism fell in Eastern Europe. Its not that the American brand of informal empire disappeared. It continued through US influences on other states policies, the sway of US corporations abroad on host governments, US military power, and the power of the Washington-based financial institutions. But, the discourse changed and raged around the softer term globalization. In the past few years, imperialism talk has roared back, led this time by the political right, who gave it a positive sheen. Some on the left have joined in too, in an exciting new literature, revising Marxist and Leninist critiques of imperialism. But, much of the political left and centre are still mired in aspirations for cosmopolitanism, which inadvertently obscure struggles for popular and national sovereignty. This paper examines the limits of cosmopolitanism for democracy, critiques the nature of US power, and discusses how a reasserted US empire has sparked the revival of nationalisms by looking at the cases of nationalism in the six top oil-exporting countries to the US. The paper concludes with inquiries into people-to-people internationalism and whether citizen-based democracy is possible without sovereignty.http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/386 |
| spellingShingle | Gordon Laxer Popular National Sovereignty and the U.S. Empire Journal of World-Systems Research |
| title | Popular National Sovereignty and the U.S. Empire |
| title_full | Popular National Sovereignty and the U.S. Empire |
| title_fullStr | Popular National Sovereignty and the U.S. Empire |
| title_full_unstemmed | Popular National Sovereignty and the U.S. Empire |
| title_short | Popular National Sovereignty and the U.S. Empire |
| title_sort | popular national sovereignty and the u s empire |
| url | http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/386 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gordonlaxer popularnationalsovereigntyandtheusempire |