Force Multipliers: The Instrumentalities of Imperialism

In the drive to accumulate ever more global power for the US state and its allies, both political and corporate, the quest for totalization confronts the challenge of “overreach”. To operate using smaller efforts to carry larger loads, US strategists have devised what they call ”force multipliers“. Force multiplication is about “leverage”: using partners and proxies in an expanding network. Forces are conceptualized in multi-dimensional terms. Anything in the world of cultural systems, social relationships, and material production can become force multipliers for imperialism, Chapters in this volume present diverse examples of force multiplication, ranging from Plan Colombia to Bulgarian membership in NATO and the US-Israeli relationship, from the New Alliance for Food Security to charitable aid and the control of migration, to the management of secrecy.