The U.S. and Hegemony

That the United States is the most influential nation in the world is beyond dispute. The continued role the US will play in world affairs is, however, hotly contested, as those in favor of hegemony argue vehemently against those convinced that the pursuit of empire is not in America's national interest. The reasons supporting each view are manifold and complex. In favor of the pursuit of empire are thinkers such as Robert Kagan and Sebastian Mallaby, who argue that the United States and the rest of the world stand to benefit from a unipolar global configuration with America at the helm. Other political analysts such as William Pfaff, Lance Selfa and Lewis H. Lapham argue that the pursuit of empire is folly, and that history has shown the error in yielding to the hubris of hegemony. The question of empire no doubt looms large for the United States in the 21st century. How this question is decided will, to some extent, decide the fate of the world as we know it.

Robert Kagan advances a notion of "benevolent hegemony" in defense of the behavior of the United States as a world superpower (26). On this view, the power wielded by the United States throughout the world has been, and will continue to be, "good for a vast portion of the world's population" (Kagan 26). Essentially, Kagan is insisting that the alternative a multipolar world boasting many loci of power will yield more violence, strife, poverty and oppression than one in which a benevolent power is allowed to

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Category: History - T