Liberal Imperialism: Empire Under a Democratic President

On the Eve of the March 2008 Ohio Primaries (republished)

First published on the “Democracy and Culture” blog connected to the Moritz College of Law at Ohio Stat on March 3, 2008, right before the Ohio Democratic primary featuring the candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Republishing here, with minor edits, less than a month before Obama’s VP, Joe Biden, takes office. While the place of the U.S. in the world is quite different than it was twelve years ago, Biden’s support for fairly mainstream foreign policy positions signals the return of a new wave of liberal imperialism from the White House.

The buzz around March 4’s Democratic primary elections in Ohio is truly unique. It’s been a long time since Democrats have vied with one another in a “more liberal than thou” campaign for votes. “Hold your nose and vote,” in short, is a slogan that has shifted from the discourse of Democrats — where it had lodged itself for years on end — to that of Republicans. After years of dammed-up frustration regarding politicians who always looked right, never left, there is a surge of hope and energy.

This is exactly why I’m trying to get the tone of this post about “liberal imperialism” right. By this term I mean imperialist discourses and policies that appeal to the humanitarian impulse of liberals and even leftists while continuing to pursue brutal economic and military actions abroad.

While rejecting the crude “us-versus-them”…