[t1lthesky]

The authors viewpoint would be that the “American Empire” is the large amount of political, military, and economic influence that America wields internationally. You can infer from the article that he believes this empire is what keeps regional powers in check. This is a good thing because a lot of those nations (China, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia just from the article) are much more autocratic and illiberal compared to the USA. Additionally, even if you believe that’s not true of these societies, growing regional ambitions in the absence of the “American Empire” leads to destabilization and more conflict.