In Imperial History, Dominic Lieven explores in depth the definition and history of the empire, and discusses how the United States, as a probable modern empire, can be compared and contrasted to empires of antiquity. The author begins by describing how the modern western world was created and shaped by empires, starting with the European Empire of the pre-world war one era. He moves on to introduce the idea of the United State’s emergence as a modern empire and the double-edged sword this title represents. On one hand, he explains, the empires of antiquity have produced tremendous civilizations and instigated incredible change, thus the term “empire”, when applied to a power such as the United States, carries with it an age-old tradition of power and progress. On the other hand, the United States claims to have integral ideological values that are in direct opposition with ‘the nationalistic and uninvited rule over foreign people’, (Lieven’s definition of an empire) preaching the ideas of freedom, liberty, and most importantly, democracy (an idea the author notes, has been in action in America only since 1945). Even the word democracy is misleading, because, as Lieven states, the United States is determined (or forced) for reasons both political and economic, to spread this idea throughout the world, an action that is inherently imperialist.
Lieven moves on to question which historical empire the United States most closely resembles, and to postulate on what such comparisons might predict in terms of the future of the United States as an imperialist entity. While the United States resembles the British and Dutch Empires in terms of their creation of a global capitalist economy, Lieven notes that these empires were ethnically defined, whereas the United States is defined by ‘ideology, culture, and political loyalty’; three aspects that can be found in the history of the Roman Empire. Ultimately however, the comparisons Lieven makes, lead him only to conclude that the fall of any empire is a hard thing to predict, and he cites the rapid fall of the Byzantine empire to the Islamic world, as an example of an unpredictable turn of events rapidly destroying a powerful political and economic entity. One hope for the preservation of the American empire which Lieven poses in the final lines of his essay, is the inclusion of the Asian world under the umbrella of the United States’ power. This partnership could, Lieven concludes, help to maintain the United State’s elevated position, while also helping to achieve global stability.