Golub, Philip S.

The End of Pax Americana? - 2009.


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In light of the crisis of the 1970s, it is possible to make a first assessment of the impact on American hegemony of the crisis the US is currently facing. It suffers from a dual crisis of legitimacy as an arbiter of international relations, and from the collapse of its financial model based on debt. The signs of loss of control are apparent everywhere; in Latin America or in the Caucasus, the United States is no longer in a position to dictate its terms. The crisis thus accentuates the trend towards regionalism and polycentrism, while emerging powers are developing as autonomous actors. But if there is an unquestionable decline of Pax Americana, the United States nevertheless retains its status as a “great power.”