cover image DILEMMAS OF DOMINATION: The Unmaking of the American Empire

DILEMMAS OF DOMINATION: The Unmaking of the American Empire

Tom Engelhardt, Walden Bello, . . Holt, $25 (272pp) ISBN 978-0-8050-7402-4

A professor of sociology and public administration at the University of the Philippines, Bello offers a provocative analysis of why he—and much of the world—sees the U.S. empire beginning to weaken. Since he believes that U.S. supremacy is unlikely to falter anytime soon, Bello focuses on its underpinnings and perceptions of its legitimacy. After a brief examination of U.S. grand strategy over the last half century, Bello (De-Globalization ) concentrates on the post-9/11 world, arguing that U.S. military credibility has been compromised by actions in Iraq. A related review of U.S.-centrist globalization follows, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the present, with a sustained critique of the current U.S. administration's policies. Most instructive are Bello's clear and cogent case studies of Southern countries that are frequently dissatisfied with the U.S.'s role in the WTO, IMF and World Bank. He argues that because the U.S. government's actions in the international arena reflect, at their core, the needs of American capitalism, the U.S. fails to champion liberal democracy and thereby loses legitimacy in the eyes of the world. Most of what's here is not news, but it is a concise and thoughtful global South perspective on America's military, economic, and political realities. (Mar. 4)