A superpower has been defined as “a country that has the capacity to project dominating power and influence anywhere in the world and so may plausibly attain the status of global hegemony. The basic components of superpower stature may be measured along the four axes of power: military, economic, political, and cultural (‘soft power'). Another definition states that to be a genuine superpower, the nation must use its own resources to solve the world's problems, accepting the ‘burden of superpowerdom'. This essay will use both these definitions to arrive at its conclusion.
Military might is a good place to start. Beginning in the 1980s, the US reorganized its armed forces into five regional commands, each with their own Commander–in-Chief, covering the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force in that region. Their role is to ‘shape, prepare and respond all over the globe' and they have become more powerful than US ambassadors in some areas. A Defense Policy guidance from 1992 stated, ‘our strategy must now refocus on precluding the emergence of any future global competitor.' While sounding imperialistic in intention, it could also be argued that it has resulted in global stability.
[...] The deduction is that militarily, the US is without contention the world's sole superpower and uses this capability to be significant in world affairs. There are few in any doubt as to its demonstrated capability as a result. 3. Economic Power ‘Arms have established empires, it takes more than arms to maintain them'.[10] Economically, the US economy has seriously weakened in recent years. This factor is often cited as evidence of it fading as a superpower. The dollar is still preferred as a reserve currency, but in the international bond market, the euro has displaced the dollar as the main currency.[11] US Professor Simon Johnson, says, “The damage from the financial crisis and its aftermath has dealt US prominence a permanent blow. [...]
[...] So is the US still the world's sole superpower? To assess the major effects of this continued, sole superpower status, according to Eric Hobsbawm, “It can be argued that since 9/11, the greatest danger of war today arises from the global ambitions of an uncontrollable and apparently irrational government in Washington.”[24] However, their apparent desire to be the ‘world's police' is commendable, understandable and fully expected by the majority of significant nations. The US has developed its soft power abilities by intentionally managing to be interdependent and interrelated to almost all other nations. [...]
[...] Is the US still the world's only superpower or is the US no longer so significant in world affairs? This paper will discuss whether the US is still the world's lone superpower or whether it is no longer so significant in world affairs, assessing the major effects of this. I will first define ‘superpower' and then discuss how the US and other nations stack up against this. The essay will also discuss the major effects on the world of any apparent change to the US status as a superpower. [...]
[...] [26] In conclusion, militarily, politically and economically, the US is still the unchallenged sole superpower in the world. The major effect of this is that the majority of the world enjoys a hope for a more stable future. BIBLIOGRAPHY “America's true reason for attacking Libya becomes clear with new central bank” March 30, www.examiner.com/finance-examiner-in-national/america-s- true-reason-for-attacking-libya-becomes-clear-with-new-central-bank Dreyer, J, “Chinese foreign Policy”, The Newsletter of FPRI's Wachman Center, February 2007, Vol. 12, No. 5 (accessed via www.fpri.org/footnotes/ 125.200702.dreyer.chineseforeignpolicy on 30/04/11) “Economists sees US decline, China's ascension” China Daily web site, January 10, 2011 (Accessed via www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2011- 01/10/content _11816997 on 6/5/11) Fukuyama, F, “Challenges to a World Order after 9/11” in Imbalance of Power: US Hegemony and International Order, Zartman, I, editor. [...]
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