2004-05 International Focus Year Colloquium: "Empire, Immigration and the War on Terrorism"

So much about the world and our lives has changed since Sept. 11, 2001. The terrorist attack upon the World Trade Center followed by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq has set into motion forces that have simultaneously undermined and accelerated the contemporary dynamics of globalization and global capitalism. The Bush Administration’s unilateral foreign policy doctrine along with the passage of the Patriot Act have together raised serious and difficult issues and questions related to America’s role in the international community and the nature of immigration in the U.S. within the context of the overall global war on terrorism. Many analysts are arguing that the U.S. has new imperial ambitions. The argument suggests that these ambitions represent a new period of U.S. empire building, a 21st century imperialism. Experts in international relations and related fields argue that there are many costs associated with current trends. Expansive empires can over-expand and collapse. Yet, others argue that the risk is unavoidable. The global war on terrorism and its attack on Western civilization require such a response on the part of the United States. The reality begs the question - what is the appropriate role of the United States in the world system today? Have the War in Iraq and the War on Terrorism diverted our attention away from more pressing matters – global poverty, environmental sustainability, renewable energy, peace, resource scarcity, social justice, human rights, and a new conceptualization of global peace and prosperity? It is these and other related questions that this series will explore. (learn more)