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This paper focuses on the current revival of imperialistic discourse in the English-speaking world in general and the United States in particular. Initial commentary focuses on the definition of the words “empire” and “imperialism” set within a historical overview of US expansion and imperial interventions, and includes references to anti-imperialism. The re-emergence of an explicit imperialist rhetoric among some groups and leading academics or pundits in the late 1990s and the early years of the twenty-first century is then analyzed in ideological terms. The seemingly paradoxical role reversals between liberals and conservatives are also addressed. The text concludes with an appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of US hegemony.