The American Empire: Land of the Fat, Dream of the French, and the International Hyperpower

Welllll, I've officially been in Rennes for more than a month now, and the weeks continue to fly by! WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED TIME?!?!

Fall is settling in and rain has become a new constant in the lives of the Rennais. Meanwhile, I'm preparing a twenty-minute oral presentation to be given this Thursday in class, discovering fun new French words every day (many of them not appropriate for blogging purposes...), drinking an extraordinary amout of Twinings Vanilla tea, and attempting to cut back on my cheese addiction. 

.... I think I'm fighting an uphill battle on that last one. 

This view has basically been my entire day.

As my personal life has been extraordinarily uninteresting recently, I have decided to write this week's blog post on a subject that has been floating around in my cranium, and that subject is:

AMERICA!!!!

*cue national anthem and throwing of red Solo cups!!*

Ohhhh America, the name that seems to induce either an indignant, angry string of mumbled curses  or sighs of dreamy longing. No matter which group you fall into, you must admit it: America plays a huge role (positive or negative?) in the modern era, and the power the USA holds over international politics and economics is one that influences almost every developed and under-developed nation-state in the international system.

I started thinking about my good ol' country earlier this week when I was sitting in International Public Law. The subject of discussion was -- unsurprisingly -- America, and the professor merrily rattled off some international treaty or other that the States played a huge role in creating... just like all the other international treaties.

I continued to think about my mother nation in Private Law, when the subject of discussion was, once again, the US.

At the end of the week, I almost blew a gasket when my professor in Introduction to International Relations: Game of Power in Asia talked about the US providing arms for terrorists in Afghanistan and ignoring human rights' treaties in Asian politics more than she talked about Russian and Chinese relations, which are countries actually located, in fact, in the Eastern hemisphere. I mean, c'mon, it's a course on ASIA. Shouldn't we be talking about ASIA, then?!!

Apparently... not. 

Since being a temporary ex-patriot for two months now, I have been given a very odd, Inception-like glimpse of the US from an outsider's perspective... and I'm not really sure I like what I see. (Granted, I've never been a huge fan of my country to begin with, seeing as we have a completely corrupt political system founded on bipartisan politics that actually achieves nothing but putting more cold, hard cash in the pockets of our so-called representatives while the rates of homelessness, poverty, and environmental deterioration continue to climb. Yes, I am a member of the Green Party. No, I am not a communist.) 

Firstly, I've discovered that you simply cannot escape the US. As previously mentioned, America has its little political and economical talons in everyone else's business. When the ISIS conflict in the Middle East began, everyone looked to see what the US would do in reaction; the media coverage on the Ebola case of Thomas Duncan in the US has probably garnered as much if not more international attention than all of the cases in Africa combined; and, the US has military bases scattered throughout the entire globe, including such countries as Greenland and Turkey, as well as thousands of American military personnel monitoring said bases.

Here's a chart that illustrates US military involvement and bases around the world. 

Now, let me ask you this: do you think the US would ever stand to allow another country to form a military base within our borders?? Please correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think there is a single established foreign military base within America. 

Even when not considering the military empire the US has constructed over time since its self-election as a post-emperial hyperpower after the Second World War, let's think about other factors of American power in the international system. 

For one, the US economy was approximately $16.2 TRILLION in 2012, and continues to create approximately 1/5 of the entire world's GDP.

Coca-Cola, Apple, McDonald's, Starbucks, Subway, and Microsoft are all American brands known throughout the entire developed world. The image below represents countries with and without McDonald's restaurants on their soil. 

Also, US media and pop culture DOMINATES the global system, with American films very commonly shown in foreign theatres and American songs populating top hits' lists everywhere.

Can anyone tell me where I can see a French film in the States that's not a dingy, independent, hole-in-the-wall movie theatre where I am afraid that I'll be taken into the back alleyway during the credits and beaten up? What about current Irish music on iTunes -- why can't I find it as easily as I can find every American alternative garage-band group known to humankind? 

And why is it that when I asked a fellow international student from Turkey what stereotypes she holds of the typical American (fat, friendly, white, big car, green lawn), I couldn't even begin to recall where to find her country on a world map?? (Note: thank goodness I've refreshed my geography since being here). 

The few examples listed above of US presence worldwide are just that: a few examples. Academic articles have been written for decades about the growth of US capacity after World War II and its rise to empirical power during the Cold War, bringing us to the modern era of Super Size cheeseburgers and the US-driven War on Terrorism. I'm sure there is almost an innumerable amount of sources illustrating my point here, so if you're feeling curious, have a look-about with our good friend Google and he'll set you up with a lifetime of reading materials. 

And yet...while I may be frustrated as all hell with my own country, I'm constantly reminded of the other side of the argument as well -- that the US and the lifestyle it has to offer is the ideal for many people, including numerous French citizens I have met recently. To many students my age, it is the unachievable dream to study abroad in America (in California! Or on the East Coast, oh là là!!). As one of my French friends stated quite frankly, "You are so lucky to come from the United States. I am so jealous of you." 

I will not deny that the US has given me incredible opportunities in my life that millions -- if not billlions -- of people around the world never even dream of. College education, good health, white collar work, study abroad... I am beyond grateful for everything my country had provided for me. 

However, the impact that the States have on the world is not one that should be ignored -- nor is it being ignored. As many current political scientists believe, the incredible acts of terrorism in the Eastern hemisphere are theorized to be a reaction to the industrialization and "Westernization" of the globe... i.e. American and European intervention in less-"developed" nation-states. 

The question I have, then, is this: will America forever be this omnipotent feature of the international system? If not, when will the era of the American empire end?

More importantly (and a bit more philosophically), does America even have the ethical and political right to act as a superpower in the international system as it is now? If not, then who is it that decides when enough... is enough? 

Food for thought on a rainy Sunday in France.

Dani out! 

<3