Socialist Register 2005: the empire reloaded

Leo Panitch and Colin Leys eds., Merlin Press, 342 pages, paperback £14.95

This collection of essays complements last year's anthology on the nature of empire in the modern world, and like the previous volume it is provocative and stimulating.

Panitch and Gindin argue that the advanced capitalist states have become more integrated and interpenetrated, largely because of foreign direct investment and trade by multinational corporations.

Far from being in decline, the US continues to account for a quarter of total world GDP, while Germany and Japan stagnate. The idea of Europe and Asia as immediate rivals to US hegemony is therefore "fanciful". John Grahl shows that the dollar accounts for over 90% of transactions in foreign exchange trading and is not under threat from the Euro.

Japan remains dependent on American markets and on the security of its investments within the US. Yuezhi Zhao argues that China is a regional power being integrated into the "informal American empire".