ABSTRACT
Little has been resolved in the current profusion of discussion and analysis of empire, and indeed the question of whether the U.S. is, properly speaking, an empire or a hegemon has barely been broached. Do historic trends suggest that this empire, in its current form, will survive? Can it be compared with the empires of the past? Should the Bush administration be understood as the culmination of a longstanding imperial policy or a passing phase, as a continuation of established U.S. foreign policy or a break with the past?
