Many commentators have said the cultural process of globalization is really just the Americanization of the globe. The world economic order has also moved toward America's chosen rules. However, since September 11th, the Bush administration has produced new foreign policy guidelines that have openly decided that the world must accept America as the only legitimate military power as well. Is this globalization, or is this just empire? In this smart, brief book, Pieterse systematically confronts many of the most important issues surrounding these questions, eventually coming down on the side of empire. However, he posits that this may be a short-term trend, and not the inevitable trajectory of American policy. It's not too late to dismantle the empire, before it buckles under its own weight.