Role of American Hegemony - Essay Example

American Hegemony By Presented to Introduction The American society is marked several types of leadership which influence the tradition and culture of the citizens. Throughout history, several leaders have been identified as superior to others while some are considered as merely subjects of other organizations that propelled them to power. Hegemony refers to the leadership and rule resulting from an indirect form of government (Spiro, 1999, p. 13). This form of government can influence the legitimate government to develop a strategy or opinion that is similar to their approach or ideology. In the 19th century, hegemony referred to the geopolitical and cultural dominance of one country upon others (Prys, 2010, p. 499). For many years, European hegemony was experienced around the world with massive success. In fact, the hegemonic principles still apply today in the world as witnessed by the reverence given to royal families such as the queen and prince. For instance, the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince Charles was air globally illustrating the existence of the modern hegemony in the society. Consequently, the imperial dominance exhibited by the royal family is a product of cultural imperialism. The cultural imperialism is a process whereby a state such as America dictates the internal politics and the societal character of the subordinates states via the sphere of influence. The growth of hegemony in the post-Cold War world is similar to the 19th and 20th century, but the leading country in hegemony in the 21st century is the U.S. in fact, most Neo-Marxist philosophers describe America as the hegemonic hyper power (Clark, 2011, p. 36). The definition is based on the unilateral military actions worldwide including the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. However, senior American political scientists argue that the current American set-up does not present a truly hegemonic state because it does not finance or use the military resources to impose a formal or proper global hegemony (Clark, 2009, p. 156). However, the global leadership is a result of American leadership and can be described as hegemonic governance. In spite of the nonexistence of the clear link between hegemony and the American government in the global environment, it is possible that the American hegemony is evident in the global politics. In political science, the denotation of hegemony extended to describe predominance of a country upon others. The action can be through extension and the development of Great Power Politics, which establishes the indirect imperial rule (Hung, 2013, p. 1343). The current international relations are based on traditional hegemony. The development of special interest group of countries such as the G20 summit is an illustration of the existence of hegemony in the global leadership. The American government is not limited band has practiced hegemony in the global arena which is evident by the way it handles the international issues and conflicts. The attack of Iraq by America was an action of coercion targeting to illustrate the hegemonic power of the state (Kwon, 2012, p. 325). In attacking Iraq, America illustrated the hegemonic hyper power. It acted as global police by stating that the Saddam Hussein government was a threat to the global peace because of the chemical and nuclear weapon they posed. Overlooking of the role of the United Nations in the conflict illustrated the hegemonic power of American government (Caraley, 2004, p. 211). The major question in the whole process is on whether the American president is influenced by the hegemonic culture of the state. In addition, the evaluation of the impact of hegemony on the president leadership is integral when studying the impact of hegemony. Consequently, the study of cultural hegemony on the president approach to national and global issue can be evaluated in the process leading to better understanding of hegemony in relation to American presidency. The evaluation of the different hegemony within the state and American presidency will be the focus of the paper. Cultural hegemony in American presidency The concept of cultural hegemony is based on one nation or culture, which can be either by direct intent or by its dominant position in the world (Perkins, 2013, p. 313). The concept of cultural hegemony dates back to the late 19th and 20th centuries as a result of the continued presence of the ruling social structure around the world. The ruling class has existed in the society and they determine the values of the society. For example, the roman values could be seen over the five centuries of the Roman Empire. America is uniquely concerned with the idea of cultural hegemony because of the promotion of its social structure (Hung, 2013, p. 1360). In fact, cultural hegemony is an investable by-product of the expansion of the American multinational corporations into the global market especially the emerging markets. However, the impact of cultural hegemony cannot be clearly evaluated based on the challenges associated with it. Dominant cultures may spread and influence diverse regions, but these regions may not abandon their values (Puchala, 2005, p. 574). They may incorporate the new ones into a broader view with the aim of achieving better life. The American presidency has been affected by the cultural hegemony. In American presidency, the support of the candidates has been equivocal while candidate with different origin are considered not indigenous and may face challenges in their candidature (Hung, 2013, p. 1369). The cultural hegemony in the American leadership is evident in the choices of leaders made over the years. In fact, after about two centuries, the country was able to elect the first ever African American president. The challenge met in the first and second election campaigns indicate the existence of cultural hegemony. In fact, the comments of some citizens in social media bordered on hate speech and indicated the displeasure of being led by African American (Wilkinson, 1999, p. 151). The challenge of cultural hegemony in the American leadership is still being practice despite centuries of governance. Cultural hegemony in American leadership is complex because of the inbuilt cultural values that upheld the discrimination and the segregation based on race, and gender. The American citizenship is viewed as free and with the protection of human rights, but the challenge of cultural hegemony is present in the decision made in relation to the presidency. America has never had a female president because of the existing cultural hegemony. In the past election, one woman vied for the presidency but could not even pass the party primaries indicating the cultural hegemonic principles controlling the mind of the citizens. Without the change of the trend, it can be stated without contradiction that voting for a female president will be impossible (Chomsky, 2007, p. 230). Cultural hegemony as ensured that women do not rise to become president rather they are viewed as support for the president. The notion is counter-productive because it leads to the creation of the glass ceiling that limit even the best candidate based on the basis of gender. Therefore, the American presidency is still a subject of cultural hegemony. Cultural Hegemony and the American presidents The American culture dating from the seventeen and eighteenth century ensured that the American presidents have college education except for special cases such as the case of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. However, the two presidents exhibited interest for the education of the citizens. In fact, Andrew Johnson in his will pledged his wealth in support of the American education. In addition, majority of the presidents attended the prestigious colleges in the country and the West especially England (Hildebrandt, 2009, p. 57). However, the studies in foreign colleges were facilitated by the local universities and colleges. The tradition set is different from other countries with most of the developing countries having leaders elected on the basis of wealth or tribal affiliation. The major challenge in the cultural hegemony is the acceptance of change in the set tradition or culture. For instance, the current president of America is educated in some of the prestigious schools in the US (Hildebrandt, 2009, p. 59). The set cultural hegemony in the presidency has affected the performance of the president. There is an inert policy that governs how the president should behave in public and private places. However, most of the presidents did not have the leisure to express themselves in the leadership because of the perceived tradition. It is evident that the American president to date is influence by hegemony which affects how he or she can operate and run the government. Other hegemonic principles include the security and travel systems and plans which are fixed and cannot be changed by the president. The fixed operational model for the president has affected the leadership and the administration of their duties (Caraley, 2004, p. 112). When addressing issues of security, the president is considered the last and powerful centre of security because he is the commander in chief of the armed forces. Therefore, when performing his duties as a commander in chief, he is expected to conduct himself as a professional military officer. These hegemonic practices affect the discharge of duties and responsibilities, but are conducted as part of the tradition and culture. These protocols have been applied to most of the presidents and even improved in certain instances with the focus being on ensuring the safety of the president. The rise of issues such as terrorism has led to increased hegemonic practices that make the presidency an office with minimal privacy. For instance, the president bedroom is wired with security features that make privacy impossible. An incident that occurred in the white house when the president’s wife accidentally activated the security button attached to the switch indicates the power of hegemonic practices in interfering with the president’s life (Puchala, 2005, p. 164). The power of the hegemonic practices on the performance of the president cannot be underestimated based on the challenges associated with protocol. However, citizens cannot understand the restrictive environment in which the president operates leading to assumptions on the performance of the president. The guiding principles of the presidency have been used over time and are reviewed minimally because they are assumed to be perfect. American president and domestic pressures The domestic pressure in America affects the performance of the president both on official and personal levels. Cases such as the recent snarl-up in the political environment of the country will affect the perception and focus of the president (Hildebrandt, 2009, p. 123). For example, the political confrontation between the democrats and republicans lead to a slowdown in the economy of the country which in turn led the president skipping some official duties in order to try and resolve the political impasse. Such situations indicate the power of domestic pressure on influencing the decision and actions of the president. In the recent conflict, the president was forced to cut short his European visit because the snarl-up was grounding the government. Such actions lead to failure to perform functions as required by the law (Wilkinson, 1999, p. 86). In fact, it leads to change in tactics approach and reason. However, the president can overcome such shortfalls by ensuring reduced conflicts and solving issues of concern as soon as possible. In spite of the involvement of the president in the political issues, it is evident that hegemony from the political front will affect the president significantly and lead to underperformance of the president. Hegemony in the structure of the office of the president will affect how fast the president resolves issues depending of the protocols developed or observed. In addition, the president relies on other sectors of the government to come up with accurate decision. However, these sectors may be slow creating a hitch between problem solving and problem identification. Therefore, the structure of leadership and the locus of control of the president will influence the level of preparedness and problem solving. Likewise, the president’s performance of official duties will be governed by the personal assistants and response of the different state offices. The level of hegemony associated with the president is high which makes him appear extremely busy or unable to address the issues of the state (Clark, 2009, p. 164). These appearances originate from the controls given to the president and the media coverage. In addition, presidents are expected to operate in a similar manner in the country. There is great resistance to change which affects the development of new operational models. The conduct of business in the offices of the president has remained the same without many changes owing to the various ‘fears’ associated with the presidency (Prys, 2010, p. 131). In fact, the presidency is viewed as an office which requires absolute security with minimal public access. Several American presidents have tried to change the concept with no success. They have been hampered by the hegemonic principles associated with security and the expected conduct of the American president. The president cannot appear in public places freely and even when he does, the level of security is high and cannot be reduced whatsoever. Such security presence intimidates the citizens reducing their interaction with their presence (Clark, 2011, p. 1366). While the need for the security is understood, the challenge to the whole process is on the reduction of citizen-president interaction. The problem was further heightened because of the assassination attempts and death of presidents such as Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy. These events in history reshaped the history of America. The security of the president became a paramount issue at all times, but the cost of the security and level of presidential interaction changed significantly. Therefore, when addressing issues such as hegemony, the underlying issues associated with security cannot be wished away, but must be understood clearly. The understanding of the security concern in the new age is simple due to the rise in terrorism and attacks. However, the setting up of the security organs should not interfere with the performance of the president. The hegemonic nature of the American security and political sector is the main contributor to the poor performance of the presidents (Kwon, 2012, p. 23). In fact, they are the leading causes of the challenges witness in relation to president performance both as an officer and a family man. Security and politics of the country affect the performance of the president in personal and official capacity because it is shrouded in hegemony. Hegemony and the future of American presidents The hegemonic principles of politics and security are the issues affecting the performance of the American president. These issues cannot be understated because they are considered the core issues in American presidency. For instance, the Obama government promised to reduce American troops worldwide, but the promise has not been kept. In fact, the policy was not adopted and the country increased the number of troops worldwide. Therefore, there is a slim or no chance for the presidents to solve the problems associated with hegemony (Hung, 2013, p. 456). The challenge is because of the security structures which have been set restrict the president in performing several issues that affect official issues. In line with security issues, the American presidential tradition is another issue affecting the performance of the presidents. There are set traditions that have been practiced in the world over the years. However, the tradition can be changed over time, but will require involvement of all the current and future presidents in the development of a flexible culture and operation strategy. The development of new traditions and culture is vital in the reduction of hegemony and reliance on past administrative methods. Therefore, the American presidency can break away from the past by taking a radical stance to issues affecting their operations. It will be hard to change the settings but if achieved will make presidents more flexible and enable them to handle issues effectively (Caraley, 2004, p. 17). However, the challenge of the hegemonic structure needs support from other governmental arms such as legislature and security. These two units can help shape the structure and operation of the president and ensure that he can achieve success in administration and leadership. The American presidency structure is the main cause of the hegemonic challenges witnessed in the country. In spite, of the challenges the future of presidency can be independent based on the issues that can be ironed out and be made effective. Conclusion The American president is not free from hegemonic structures of governance. Instead, he is affected sufficiently with the hegemonic structures developed over the years. The behaviour and conduct of the president is shaped by the security and administrative structures developed over the years (Puchala, 2005, p. 56). In fact, most of the activities that the president undertakes are controlled by the security team and personal assistant. Therefore, the independence of the president cannot be achieved easily because of the increasing challenges resulting from security and administrative structures. Bureaucracy is a major challenge for the president because of the state limitations imposed as a result of the need for balance. Therefore, as the country progress, the president is continually affected by the hegemonic used in the management of human resource and labour. Cultural hegemony is the major challenge for the president because the culture and tradition has been developed over a long period of time (Spiro, 1999, p. 412). The period is essentially three centuries making the resistance to change significant. The resistance is the major stumbling block for the change of the whole process. The president of America is affected implicitly by the bureaucratic structures of the state. Therefore, hegemony still plays an integral role in the leadership of the state. Bibliography Caraley, D., 2004. American Hegemony: Preventive War, Iraq, and Imposing Democracy. Ist ed. Chicago: Academy of Political Science. Chomsky, N., 2007. Hegemony or Survival: Americas Quest for Global Dominance. Illustrated ed. London: Henry Holt and Company. Clark, I., 2009. Bringing hegemony back in: the United States and international order. International Affairs, 85(1), pp. 23-36. Clark, I., 2011. China and the United States: a succession of hegemonies?. International Affairs, 87(1), pp. 13-28. Hildebrandt, R., 2009. US Hegemony: Global Ambitions and Decline : Emergence of the Interregional Asian Triangle and the Relegation of the US as a Hegemonic Power, the Reorientation of Europe. 1st ed. New York: Peter Lang. Hung, H.-f., 2013. China: Saviour or Challenger of the Dollar Hegemony?. Development and Change, 44(6), pp. 1341-1361. Kwon, R., 2012. Hegemonic Stability, World Cultural Diffusion, and Trade Globalization. Sociological Forum, 27(2), pp. 324-347. Perkins, H., 2013. Consent to Neoliberal Hegemony through Coercive Urban Environmental Governance. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 37(1), pp. 311-327. Prys, M., 2010. Hegemony, Domination, Detachment: Differences in Regional Powerhood. International Studies Review, 12(4), pp. 479-504. Puchala, D. J., 2005. World Hegemony and the United Nation. International Studies Review, 7(4), pp. 571-584. Spiro, D. E., 1999. The Hidden Hand of American Hegemony: Petrodollar Recycling and International Markets. illustrated ed. New York: Cornell University Press. Wilkinson, D., 1999. Unipolarity Without Hegemony. International Studies Review, 1(2), pp. 141-172. Read More