AMERICA AS EMPIRE: Global Leader or Rogue Power?

Garrison, president of the State of the World Forum, reviews America's rise to the de facto status of an "imperial republic" and suggests that the country can "articulate a vision of greatness" that will lead the rest of the world into liberal democracy. Garrison is undoubtedly correct that no other nation is powerful enough to lead the charge, and his historical analysis is strong despite its brevity. Yet the author's emphasis on the positive prospects for "the first planetary civilization" will strike many as overly optimistic. (Feb.)