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1、AnEmpireinDenialTheLimitsofUSImperialismNiallFerguson[NIALLFERGUSONisHerzogProfessorofHistoryattheSternSchoolofBusiness,NewYorkUniversityandaSeniorResearchFellowofJesusCollege,Oxford.]ItusedtobeonlyforeignersandthoseonthefringesofUSpoliticswhoreferredtothe“AmericanEmpire.”Invariably,theydidsoinorder
2、tocriticizetheUnitedStates.SincetheattackontheWorldTradeCenterinSeptember2001,however,therehasbeenagrowingvolumeofmoreseriouswritingonthesubjectofanAmericanempire.Thephraseisnowheardbothinpoliteacademiccompanyandinmainstreampublicdebate.Thestrikingthingisthatnotallthosewhonowopenlyusetheterm“empire”
3、dosopejoratively.Anumberofcommentators—notablyMaxBoot,ThomasDonnelly,RobertKaplan,andCharlesKrauthammer—seemtorelishtheideaofaUSimperium.“Todaythereisonlyoneempire,”JamesKurthofSwarthmoreCollegedeclaredinarecentarticleintheNationalInterest,“theglobalempireoftheUnitedStates.”Officially,however,theUni
4、tedStatesremainsanempireindenial.InthewordsofUSPresidentGeorgeBushduringhispresidentialelectioncampaignin2000:“Americahasneverbeenanempire.Wemaybetheonlygreatpowerinhistorythathadthechance,andrefused—preferringgreatnesstopower,andjusticetoglory.”Freuddefineddenialasaprimitivepsychologicaldefensemech
5、anismagainsttrauma.Perhapsitwasthereforeinevitablethat,intheaftermathoftheSeptember11attacks,UScitizenswoulddenytheircountry’simperialcharactermorevehementlythanever.ItmayneverthelessbetherapeutictodeterminetheprecisenatureofthisAmericanEmpire—sinceempireitis,inallbutImperialdenialmaysimplybeamatter
6、ofsemantics.Manypost-warwritersaboutUSpowerhaveusedwordslike“hegemon”toconveytheideathatUSoverseasinfluenceisgreatbutnotimperial.Thereareotherusefulalternativestotheterm“empire,”including“unipolarity,”global“leadership,”and“theonlysuperpower.”Definetheterm“empire”narrowlyenough,andtheUnitedStatescan
7、easilybeexcludedfromthecategory.Supposeempireistakentomean“theforciblemilitaryoccupationandgovernanceofterritorywhosecitizensremainpermanentlyexcludedfrompoliticalrepresentation.”Bythatdefinition,theA
