ABSTRACT
The relatively sudden and unanticipated end of the Cold War that chilled Europe for over forty years appears to be turning into an ever more complicated peace. Moreover, one of the seemingly most liberal and peaceful of the former 'societies of actually existing socialism', Yugoslavia, has subsequently provided the setting for an increasingly complicated war, the first 'hot' war since 1945 in Europe. Meanwhile, in an America buoyed up by both the 'successful' outcome of the Gulf War and the collapse of the 'Evil Empire' there is increasing concern about the troubles at home, including in extreme cases expression of fears about the possibility of civil war. The diminishing threat of global apocalypse has seemingly been replaced by the growing reality of 'local' catastrophe. Evidence of increasing racial and ethnic conflict has been taken as a sign that the assimilatory model of the 'melting pot' is no longer appropriate. The aspiration now is not assimilation but 'integration through diversity' which means according legitimacy and value to ethnic and religious identities, communities and differences 'so long as they are ultimately subordinated to the overarching political community and its complex of myths, memories and symbols' (Smith
1990: 173). The growing social problems and conflicts threatening community life in America demonstrate that if integration through diversity is the aspiration, fragmentation, aggression and disintegration is the more familiar reality. Crimes of violence appear to be rising rapidly. In 1991 the projection was for 24,000 homicides. Of every 1000 Americans, 11 were expected to be victims of violent crime. In education 25 per cent of all High School students were expected to fail to graduate. And the economic portents appeared equally gloomy. The budget deficit was projected to be $350 billion and over 33 million Americans were considered to face the prospect of living below the poverty line. Moreover, once dominated by domestic capital, the economy 'is now increasingly influenced by transnationally orchestrated foreign investment, especially from Britain, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and Japan' (Rouse 1991: 16). Do such developments constitute signs of 'the eclipse of America' (Wark 1990: 20), do they suggest that as we move rapidly from 'the territorialmilitary-political age into an economic-financial-technological age ... [the] United States due to its economic, budgetary and societal shortcomings, is bound to lose political and, ultimately, also military clout' (Sommer 1991: 1O)?
