Power of America in Post Cold War Era - Essay Example

America’s Power in Post Cold War Era Introduction This paper would be carrying out an in-depth analysis of the position of American power subsequent to the era of cold war. Immediately after the completion of the Cold War, the Soviet Union got disintegrated and the US remained as the sole superpower of the globe. Before proceeding further and understanding the diverse aspects of the position of America, after the Cold War, there needs to be a brief focus on the Cold War and the scenario related to it. That is more or less imperative for fully appreciating the contents that are to be elaborated, in the subsequent sections of the paper. Cold War The Cold War refers to the scenario coming into being immediately after the finish of the Second World War, in 1945, and which was marked by the presence of mutual distrust and animosity between the US and the then USSR. And during the entire duration of the Cold War, both those regions were the political superpowers of the globe wielding tremendous military power. In this context, it is ironical to note that in the Second World War, both the US and the USSR were allies. Hence, it was perplexing when, after the end of that War, bitter rivalry developed between both these zones. (1) (historylearningsite.co.uk, 2010). The Cold War was the dominant force in all international matters of the corresponding period, and during the phase, both the USSR and the US included huge quantities of weapons of mass destruction in their armory. As a matter of fact, the Cold War Phase was marked by a scenario where all other smaller nations were necessitated to be siding either of the two superpowers. At this juncture it needs to be mentioned that, the amicable ties between both the regions during the Second World War were chiefly because of the fact that Germany led by Nazis was a common foe. In this era of Cold War, the USSR’s power was attributable to the presence of a huge army, while the strength of the US was from its most potent weapons. (1) (historylearningsite.co.uk, 2010). Post Cold War Era – Power of the US Subsequent to the finish of the Cold War, and after the disintegration of the USSR, many intellectuals of the US were involved in a serious debate. They were divided into two groups – one group arguing that even the power held by America would decline, and the other one maintaining that the US would gather further strength. Almost a decade after that, it was noted that the arguments of the former group turned to be factual realities. (2) (Kim Richard Nossal, July 1999). Indeed, after the end of the Cold War, the US steadily grew in strength and it eventually attained the position of the chief power center of the global political landscape. In fact, the dominance of America was not just confined to politics, but also encompassed all other spheres such as economics, technology and military, amongst many others. Owing to all that, it is not an exaggeration in stating that, America was then in a position to exert a very major impact upon various issues of political significance, on a worldwide basis. (2) (Kim Richard Nossal, July 1999). Quite a number of nations were displeased with the dominant position of the US, succeeding the cold war era. But they were unable to form themselves into a combined force for challenging America’s position of almost unhindered power. China was unhappy with what it termed as the “hegemonism” of the US, while France was not- that- happy with the “hyper-power” of America. As a matter of fact, many other nations were also extremely resentful of the stand of the US, and yet, there was one area where all of them were appreciative of the American Power – the security and stability, worldwide, chiefly attributable to America’s dominance. Many countries strongly opined that, except in the event of some major and unexpected disaster or a severe nuclear war, there would be no immediate threat to the power of the United States. (3) (Encyclopedia of the New American Nation, ND). Slight Decline in Power Over the past decade or so, though the globe has been witnessing a slight decline in the power held by America, yet, this drop is not grave enough to bring about a scenario of total collapse of the US as a power center. It needs to be conceded that, this slight decline is primarily attributable to some foreign policies of the US, and which turned out to be a major burden both for the country’s (the US) military might and also the economic strength. Despite all that and at least as of the things stand right now, there is no logical reason to forecast a total drop of the American power, at least in the near future. (4) (HARVARD INTERNATIONAL Review). September 11, 2001 The terrorist attacks in the United States, on September 11th 2001, are a blatant challenge of the American Power, by the fundamentalist elements. These attacks have started to question the global contention that the US is invincible, along with exposing the shortcomings of the internal security of America. At this juncture, it needs to be admitted that, even these terror strikes are amongst the various factors responsible for the slight decline in the strength of America, discussed in the immediately preceding section. Almost immediately after the above terrorist attacks, the US, along with some other major powerful nations of the World, formed an International Coalition Against Terror. But there is now a vehement criticism on this coalition, emanating from diverse quarters of the globe that, it (coalition) is just a ploy by all the global economic and military powers to dump their weapons of mass destruction in the weaker nations. (5) (THIRD WORLD TRAVELER, 2001). Subsequent to the terror attacks of September 2011, America immediately started to initiate corrective measures for fortifying its internal security, so as to make it strong enough to be free from the risk of any future terror strikes. As a part of all that, the US made its laws and rules that pertain to immigration, even more stringent. Because of that, there have been countless instances of innocent law-abiding people from Asia being victims of suspicion. The American Paranoia was responsible for many common people facing humiliating experiences in places such as airports. That further tarnished the image of the United States on the global landscape, and to some extent, is also a factor in bringing about the aforesaid scenario of a slight drop in the American might. Drop in Power – Major Factors There are many factors, owing to which, the global community is now getting to witness a scenario where the power of the hitherto invincible America is steadily reducing. The nation, which was once considered to be perfectly epitomizing the ideal blend of military might and economic prosperity, is currently confronted with numerous issues, which are challenging and jeopardizing its position as an unchallenged power center of the planet. There should be no hesitation in emphatically arguing that, many of those issues are a direct outcome of some of the misdeeds of the US. And some of them (issues) resulted from major tactical blunders. In the current world, the spread of knowledge and technology at high rapidity is the order of the day. Amidst such a state of affairs, America is struggling to keep in pace with the overall progress of the globe, as quite a bit of damage has been done (to America) because of the Iraq War, rising negative current-account balances, rapidly rising governmental debt, and many other economic shortcomings. If the same scenario persists without leaving any scope for recovery, the tenure of Bush is going to be deemed as the one denoting the death knell for hegemonic position of the United States of America. (6) (THE NATIONAL INTEREST, January 2009). After the finish of the Cold War, America has been giving its commitment to various issues of international relevance, with the sole intention of maintaining stability and peace, not just in its neighboring regions, but also in Asia and Europe. All those commitments turned out to be highly taxing for the resources available with the US, and in the recent years, the over-ambitious objectives of the American Leadership propelled by various ulterior motives, further aggravated the above scenario. This leadership designed its foreign policies by not confining itself to just to the all-important aspect of worldwide stability, but also encompassing some non-realistic goals in its agenda. The same is now turning out to a nemesis for the American Power. (6) (THE NATIONAL INTEREST, January 2009). Owing to all the points focused upon in the immediately preceding paragraph, as well as many other similar factors, America’s global position as the unchallenged superpower, and which was even more prominent during the initial post Cold War phase, is now gradually becoming nothing but a thing of the past. (6) (THE NATIONAL INTEREST, January 2009). In this regard and from the perspective of the United States, it would be rather perturbing to be noting that the share of America in the entire economic production of the globe is steadily dropping. Experts strongly opine that, even now, if timely corrective measures are initiated by the American leaders, some of the damage can be undone. Yet, it is also simultaneously being maintained that, even the most committed initiatives and policies are now not adequate for enabling the US in regaining its position as the hegemony of the world – only a portion of the damage can be corrected. (6) (THE NATIONAL INTEREST, January 2009). The gradual decline in the power of the United States leaves scope for many interesting implications, and at this juncture, it would be worthwhile in having a look at some of them. Even as the American power reduces, at the same time, many new powers would be surfacing on the international political and economic landscape. And these new power centers, which earlier were compelled to be just mute spectators to the policies of the US, would now be having the needed strength to challenge those (American policies). Here, it is interesting that many of the new powers, till the recent past, could not even dream of voicing views against the actions of the US, even if they (actions) verged on totalitarianism. That this dramatic transformation in the state of affairs is a vivid reflection of the gradual but sure drop of the strength of the United States warrants no special mention. (6) (THE NATIONAL INTEREST, January 2009). History is testimony to the fact that, every phenomenal rise is eventually succeeded by a great fall. In the book “The Rise and Fall of Great Powers”, the author Paul Kennedy aptly and logically elaborates that, the rate of drop in power is directly proportional to the volume of international commitments that a country has – more the commitments, more the reduction in power. (6) (THE NATIONAL INTEREST, January 2009). China Challenges the American Power In the recent years, China has been recording noteworthy progress in diverse realms such as technology, military strength and economic prosperity, courtesy the various bold and concrete measures initiated by the Country’s Communist government. Owing to that, the World is now the witness to the scenario where, China is starting to challenge the might of the United States – a trend that was beyond anyone’s imagination about two decades back! As a matter of fact, many experts have come out with the projection that, in just about another three decades or so China would be totally outperforming America, in terms of economic strength. In fact, this steady ascension to power by China is anticipated to give rise to many security-related issues, especially in the region of Asia. And these issues, in all likelihood, would bring about a further decline in the power of the US. (7) (LateNightLive, July 2010). Apart from China, there are many other countries in the Asian Region such as Japan that are gradually emerging as forces to reckon with, by displaying substantial growth rates in the various spheres. Based on that, the logical inference would be, there is every possibility that in the not- that- distant future, all these zones could join forces with China and go on to aggressively challenge the American might, which as it is, is registering a constant drop. Conclusion The contents discussed in the paper clearly focus on the almost imminent global scenario, which could be getting to see a new global power center, with the superpower of the past being compelled to undergo tremendous struggle in regaining its lost splendor. The subject elaborated in this paper is an extensive one, and it is just not possible to cover all the related points and issues in a brief write-up such as this one. Yet, a sincere attempt has been made to adequately encompass the most vital of the pertinent aspects. Sources 1) historylearningsite.co.uk, 2010. What was the Cold War. Retrieved from historylearningsite.co.uk/what%20was%20the%20cold%20war.htm. 2) Kim Richard Nossal, July 1999. Lonely Superpower or Unapologetic Hyperpower?. Retrieved from post.queensu.ca/~nossalk/papers/hyperpower.htm. 3) Encyclopedia of the New American Nation, ND. Post–cold War Policy - Preserving american global hegemony. Retrieved from americanforeignrelations.com/O-W/Post-cold-War-Policy-Preserving-american-global-hegemony.html. 4) HARVARD INTERNATIONAL Review, May 2006. Mapping Decline. Retrieved from hir.harvard.edu/predicting-the-present/mapping-decline. 5) THIRD WORLD TRAVELER, 2001. September 11th 2001. Retrieved from thirdworldtraveler.com/Sept_11_2001/Sept_11_2001_NYC.html. 6) THE NATIONAL INTEREST, January 2009. Empire Falls. Retrieved from nationalinterest.org/article/empire-falls-2952. 7) LateNightLive, July 2010. Will China Challenge US Power?. Retrieved from abc.net.au/rn/latenightlive/stories/2010/2964489.htm. Read More