Us Hegemony Flashcards
is the US still the global hegemon?
YES: economic
The USA remains the largest economy in the world USGDP in 2016 was US$18.56 trillion
The US dollar is the main form of international currency and Wall
Street is the world Central global trading hub
The USA has huge amounts of structural power in important organs of global economic governance such as the world trade organisation
World Bank and IMF
The USA has an expanding population that is estimated to reach 439 million by 2050
Economic resilience the USA accounts for about 32% of world spending on research and development giving it an almost unassailable technological lead over other countries and insuring high productivity levels
China is generations away from rivalling the USA in the technologically advanced economic sectors
more over just as the British Empire remained a global hegemon until the mid 20th century despite having been overtaken by the USA and
Germany economically the USA may continue to retain global leadership in the world in which it is no longer the economic number one
However for now it is still the worlds largest economy and established the dominant global economic model of neoliberalism
is the US still the global hegemon?
NO: economic
China is expected to overtake the USA in terms of its GDP and foreign direct investment by around 2020
USA debt to China in 2017 amounted to over US$1 trillion
The collapse of Lehman Bros which helped to precipitative 2008 global financial crisis has undermined faith in the Washington consensus
China has overtaken the USA as the biggest investor in Africa and
South America
The AlIB Is based in Beijing and is designed to challenge the World
Bank as a major lender in the developing world
Only three of the top 10 wealthiest companies in the world in 2017 were American (Walmart Exxon Mobil and apple) Three of them on our Chinese (state grid, China National petroleum and Sinopec
Relative economic decline although the USA remains the worlds largest economy its competitors notably China and India have been growing much more quickly in recent decades with the Chinese economy predicted to outstrip and overtake the US economy perhaps even as early as 2020
The 2007 to 9 global financial crisis may have further week and the
USA exposing the flaws of the US economic model and bring the dollars position as the worlds leading currency into question
The dominance of the USA is neoliberal economic model has been called into question by the global crash of 2007 to 9
Related issues include the USA is pressing for school problems which affect it standing in the world and the stability of US politics
is the US still the global hegemon?
YES: cultural
The USA is pre-eminent in terms of soft power influence it is world renowned in television and film and has globally leading fashion and corporate brands for 10 highest grossing films in history have all been
American
In 2015 according to Forbes eight of the 10 most successful brands in the world were American (Apple Microsoft Google Coca-Cola IBM
McDonald’s general electric Facebook)
The dominance of American cultural values has encouraged some political commentators to argue that globalisation is another word for
Americanisation
Soft power culture ideology and institutions of the USA are attracted to and identified with by states and people across the globe
is the US still the global hegemon?
NO: cultural
Other cultures are becoming more influential on a global scale
Bollywood is in direct competition with Hollywood Association football is the most popular sport in the world and the most popular sports teams in the world are Manchester United and Real Madrid
The USA is global soft power influence has been dramatically undermined by controversy such as the Iraq war waterboarding and Gauntanamo Bay Meanwhile China has been expanding its global cultural influence by opening Confucius institutes across the world which spread Chinese values
Damaged soft power the USA soft power has declined in a number of respects its reputation has been damaged by its association with corporate power and widening global inequality resentment developing against Americanisation
Serious damage has also been done to the USA is moral authority by the war on terror generally and the Iraq war in particular made worse by the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and in the Guantánamo detention camp
The growing view is also that soft power is becoming more significant but the US decision to invade Iraq without you and approval and its choice of tactics have a weakened it’s soft power
is the US still the global hegemon?
YES: political
The USA possesses important structural power in many GOs
it is the most proactive permanent member of the UN Security Council and plays the dominant role in IGOs such as the IMF World Bank G-7 and NATO
Unrivalled structural power the USA exercises disproportional influence over the institutions of global economic governance and over NATO
Despite the growing influence of the developing world and of emerging economies no country is close to challenging the USA’s influence over global economic decision-making
This was reflected in the leading role that the USA played in formulating a global response to the 2007 to 9 global financial crisis
USA plays the biggest role in most international organisations including the UN Security Council G-7 I am F World Bank
is the US still the global hegemon?
NO: political
There are rivals to the USA is political structural power with many of the emerging powers taking on increasingly significant roles
China and Russia are also permanent five members of the UN Security Council India is fast becoming a significant actor for the global south many of these emerging powers holds significant regional power
Furthermore the Breton Woods institutions have increasingly come under criticism for their western and in particular US dominance this has been a key feature of the anti-globalisation movement
Donald Trump is America first rhetoric may alienate other countries therefore undermining the USA soft power global influence his withdrawal Of the USA from the Paris climate change agreement in
June 2017 has also provided China with the opportunity to seize global leadership in combating climate change
Declining diplomatic influence the USA has lost influence in Latin America formally seen as America’s backyard it has to rely on Chinese diplomacy to exert influence over North Korea EU diplomacy is needed to influence Iran and even its capacity to exert pressure on Israel is limited
Moreover China for instance over Tibet And Russia for instance over georgia are largely immune from US diplomatic pressure
The decline of the USA structural power is also evident in the rise of the G 20 as the key forum for global economic policy making
Declining structural power can also be seen in the rise of the BRICS states Brazil Russia India China South Africa which has challenged the
USA structural power limiting its power to take action over Crimea or
Syria
the USA’s role as in force of the international political framework is declining as it increasingly focuses on its national interest
is the US still the global hegemon?
YES: military
The USA has the worlds largest military budget in 2015 it spent $610 billion on defence which is more than the rest of the world spending on the fence put together the USA is nearest rival China only spent
$216 billion
The USA has 800 military bases in more than 70 countries across the globe and so can deploy troops anywhere in the world at any time in comparison Russia only has 10 military bases overseas
The USA has 13 operational aircraft carriers where as Russia only has one And China only has one
The aggregate tonnage of the US Navy which forms the basis of US out reach is greater in size than that of the next 17 Navies combined
Global military dominance the USA is military lead over the rest of the world is huge in 2011 the USA accounted for 42% of the worlds military spending and had a five fold lead over China the second largest military Spender
The USA has 700 military bases in over 100 countries as well as an unchallengeable lead in high-tech weaponry and in airpower USA is the sole power that can intervene militarily in any part of the world and sustain multiple operations global military reach
is the US still the global hegemon?
NO: military
Russia and China are both beginning to challenge US military might both in terms of the global reach of the forces and the sophistication of their weaponry
China is developing short and medium range missiles and nuclear powered submarines in order to have the dominant military force in the South China Sea
In 2016 Russia announced that it had constructed the worlds most
lethal nuclear weapon the RS: 28 Sarmat which can dodge radar travel up to 10,000 km and carry up to 12 warheads
redundant military power - preponderant military power may no longer be a secure base for hegemony
there is a huge gap between the destructive capacity of the US military machine and what it can achieve politically
The forced withdrawals of the USA from Lebanon in 1984 and Somalia in 1993 and the difficulty of winning asymmetrical walls in Iraq and Afghanistan demonstrate how the use of terrorist, guerrilla And insurrectionary tactics can thwart even the most advanced power
Terrorism tactics in Afghanistan and Iraq showed the limits of the USA’s military power
YES: population
The US population is expected to reach 439 milion by 2050 with big increases in the number of Hispanics and Asians helping to underpin economic performance and to keep the USA age profile low relative to fast ageing Europe Japan and China
Allied to this is the highly educated and skilled nature of the US population particularly in areas such as science and technology
It is commonly accepted that up to 7 US universities feature in the worlds top 10 while no Asian University has yet entered the top 20
