Pax Americana
Fall 2004

Although America does not officially refer to itself as an empire, it often behaves as one; this fact has been laid bare by our recent actions in the Middle East and Central Asia in response to terrorist actions against us. This country exerts its extraordinary pull on other nations not merely through military and economic might, but through its culture. Although our ballooning trade deficit in goods has ceased to make news, our lifestyle has become our most significant export. Hollywood special effects drama, free-market economics, media proliferation, and packaged youth rebellion have all—either separately or in a single, congealed mass—touched the lives of all but a few of our planet's citizens.

The world has reacted in a wide variety of ways to this cultural empire. France has created quotas for French-language films in its theaters, hoping to halt a complete Hollywood takeover. Protesters in countries across the globe have taken to carrying banners in English, hoping for a slice of American television airtime. Children in formerly Communist Europe start English lessons in kindergarten. Yet terrorists bomb our national symbols, and American tourists are pelted with stones in Central Asia simply because of where they come from.

International response to American culture has been complex; and America too has shown a wide range of reactions to those beyond our borders, from panicked isolationism to a sudden political interest in countries (Pakistan, the Philippines, etc.) that have long failed to pique our curiosity. But while the U.S. debates its relationship to the rest of the world, people from all quarters of the globe continue to flock to it in search of the political freedom and economic opportunity that the longest-lasting and most successful democracy in history can offer.

Political stances are form only part of our relationship to the world; but the experience of cultural interaction is essentially a lived one. Pax Americana explores the myriad ways in which the cultural life of America intersects with the cultural life beyond its borders, examining the relentless push-pull that affects all points of contact with the American empire.

This issue, available September 2004, features original work from Rudolfo Anaya, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Diane Glancy, Donald Hall, Naomi Shihab Nye, and more. See our complete contributors list.