P illi%(IUils~gO Anytime, Anywhere En t'ep ren eu rsh iI, a n d the Creation oi a Wireless World LouisGalambos and Eric lohn Abrohamson 0-521-81616-5, Hardback, s29.00 -· I~Jp: LiberalPluralism ~t The ImPlications oiValue Pluralism for PoliticalTheory and praciice a_;-·,: William A, Galston - _:h 0-521-01294-X, Paperback, ;I 819.00.:·--U-D FfC On Tycho's Island Op Tycho i3rahe,Science, anti THEBEGINNING TO YHE SPANISH CONQUEST Culture n~ the Sixieenth Century lohn Robert Christianson : 0-521-00884-0,Paperback, $22.00 b i t ~- · Mexico Alan Knight Volume i. FI·omthe lieginning to tJ~e ~:~i~8~jr~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~i~I~ * Sl,anish Co~~clLlest ALAN KNIGHT 0-521-89195-7 Paperback, $20.00 Volume 2. 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Woloson i / "ln tracingthe \ial·iolls ways rhnr ~-- ·· sugnl· became mol·e widely i:'iBii ~I ·, sccessihle and mol·e \z~idelyIlsed, iiis C~ 6 thishool~ stands \virhin the ii ;; di~,~11ii1gl·o\·ing litel-arul-~rhar deals \virh A 1 rhc· ol·igins anci evolurion ol- i' · " modern consumer culture." 2~2~ I' :I- r 3··:~ --W~II·l·c~nIlelasco, Uni\·cl·sir\· of h/lal·\llund, 13altimol-e Counr\i iii \ i \\ i: el $44.95hardcover WQ WQSUMMER 2002 THE WILSON QUARTERLY Published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars WQ website: Wilsonquarterly.com 13 WHERE DOES EUROPE END? by Nancy Popson Once a ward of the Soviet Union and now one of Europe’s largest independent nations, Ukraine is knocking on the West’s door. Will anybody answer? 20 SNOBBUS AMERICANUS by Joseph Epstein If America were a less open and democratic society, it would be a less snobbish society too. But the infinite opportunity for advancement brings condescension in its wake. 26 THE LOST PROPHET OF ARCHITECTURE by Wendy Kohn Some of Christopher Alexander’s ideas could revolutionize the way we build houses, neighborhoods, and cities. It’s his other ideas that are the problem. 35 AN AMERICAN EMPIRE? Empire used to be an epithet critics hurled against U.S. power. But after Amer- ica’s swift victory in distant Afghanistan and its mobilization for a global war against terrorism, others too are wondering whether empire is indeed the right word to describe the U.S. role in the world. Ranging from ancient Rome to the modern Middle East, our contributors ponder that and other possibilities. Essays by Martin Walker, Andrew J. Bacevich, Michael J. Glennon, Michael Lind, and Robert Litwak departments 2 EDITOR’S COMMENT 109 CURRENT BOOKS Paul Maliszewski 3 CORRESPONDENCE on the Wilkomirski affair 9 FINDINGS Sunil Khilnani on war and the state Half Full or Half Empty? Lasch’s Punctilios Reviews by Jeff Greenfield, Art Happens Christopher Hitchens, Steven Bach, Harry Shearer, Terry Teachout, James 83 THE PERIODICAL OBSERVER Pinkerton, and others Drawing a Bead on Terrorism Replacement Parts 128 FROM THE CENTER cover: The Spirit of Liberty (1986), by T. F. Chen, courtesy of the T. F. Chen Cultural Center, New York. Design by David Herbick. The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. USPS 346-670 | Volume XXVI, Number 3 | Printed in the U.S.A. Editor’s Comment n American empire? Our cover story for this issue is inspired not so much by a settled view of the question as by a conviction Athat the debate between “multilateralists” and “unilateralists” long ago stopped being very illuminating. September 11 showed that there aren’t many pure multilateralists when New York is in flames, and I haven’t encountered too many unilateralists who want to pull the plug on, say, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Perhaps America is an empire. It may be merely a great power of unusual strength. Or it may be only first among equals, the powerful leader of a mighty coalition. These alternatives hardly exhaust the possibilities. The point is that how the United States sees itself ought to influence how it acts in different situations. That’s why we asked five thinkers to take up the question of empire from their various perspectives. The cover story owes a particular intellectual debt to one of those contribu- tors, Andrew J. Bacevich, whose provocative writings in the WQ and else- where over the past few years have often dealt with the implications of what he sees as America’s imperial role in the world. Though he is no partisan of empire, Bacevich believes that the United States has almost unwittingly become the new Rome, and he argues that Americans must confront this fact of their national existence in molding U.S. military and diplomatic policies. Bacevich has not been alone in thinking about empire, but he has a unique perspective, shaped in part by a background that includes a 23-year career in the U.S. Army and a Ph.D. in history from Princeton University. This fall, Har- vard University Press will publish his new book, American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U.S. Diplomacy, which is sure to reward readers and stir wide debate. Congratulations, too, to editorial adviser and “empire” contributor Martin Walker on the publication of his novel, The Caves of Périgord. Editor: Steven Lagerfeld The Wilson Quarterly (ISSN-0363-3276) is published in Managing Editor: James H. Carman January (Winter), April (Spring), July (Summer), and October Senior Editors: Robert K. Landers, (Autumn) by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for James M. Morris Scholars at One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Literary Editor: Stephen Bates Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004–3027. Complete Editors at Large: Ann Hulbert, Jay Tolson article index available online at www.wilsonquarterly.com. Copy Editor: Vincent Ercolano Subscriptions: one year, $24; two years, $43. Air mail outside Contributing Editors: Martha Bayles, U.S.: one year, $39; two years, $73. Single copies mailed Linda Colley, Denis Donoghue, Max Holland, upon request: $7; outside U.S. and possessions, $8; selected Stephen Miller, Jeffery Paine, Walter Reich, back issues: $7, including postage and handling; outside Alan Ryan, Edward Tenner, Charles U.S., $8. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., and additional mailing offices. All unsolicited manuscripts Townshend, Alan Wolfe, Bertram Wyatt-Brown should be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped enve- Researchers: Jeffrey M. 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Advertising: Suzanne Napper, Founding Editor: Peter Braestrup (1929–1997) Tel.: (202) 691-4021, Fax: (202) 691-4036. Publisher/Mail Business Manager: Suzanne Napper Order: Kalish, Quigley & Rosen, Tel.: (212) 399-9500, Circulation: Cary Zel, ProCirc, Miami, Fla. Fax: (212) 265-0986. 2 Wilson Quarterly CorrespondenceCorrespondence Letters may be mailed to One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004–3027, or sent via facsimile, to (202) 691-4036, or e-mail, to [email protected]. The writer’s telephone number and postal address should be included. For reasons of space, letters are usually edited for publication. Some letters are received in response to the editors’ requests for comment. Wolfensberger correctly concludes that an A Strong Executive appropriate balance between the branches is In his insightful article, “The Return of the essential to the preservation of our constitu- Imperial Presidency?” [WQ, Spring ’02], tional liberties. Donald R. Wolfensberger rightly points out James P. Pfiffner that the executive came to dominate the Professor of Public Policy American political system in the 20th century. George Mason University But this does not keep presidents from feeling Fairfax, Va. frustrated when they cannot get their way in bat- tles over public policy. In times of crisis, it is nat- The imperial presidency, if by that we mean ural for the rest of the political system to dele- one “characterized by greater power than the gate more power to the executive because it can constitution allows,” has definitely not act quickly and has the resources to defend returned.