Us Hegemony

At the dawn of the twenty-first century the United States stood as the lone superpower with the ability to reach any corner of the globe. Journalist Robert Kaplan wrote about the American military, and how the planet was divided into area commands and there was no corner of the globe that was unaccounted. (Kaplan, 4) The U.S. military’s ability to reach any country on the planet is only rivaled by the influence the United States wields on the political scene. In the last century, American government representatives have exercised considerable influence in bringing warring parties to the negotiating table. Additionally, American culture invaded even the most remote villages. The experience of the United States as a superpower draws comparisons to other great powers in history like the Roman Empire and the British Empire. In both cases, these powers had global reach and influence; even their periods had names, Pax Romana and Pax Britanica respectively. Although the United States is not an imperial power in the classical sense, it does preside over an empire. The degree of American power led many critics to derisively refer to the U.S. as a hyper-power. (Black, 199) As the lone superpower American hegemony could be named Pax Americana but was U.S. hegemony inevitable? The answer is yes. However, unlike great empires before it, the U.S. did not necessarily set out to be a global power. (Kaplan, 7) Instead, American hegemony was progressive and grew when significant events propelled the U.S. into a prominent global role. When the twentieth century dawned and the United States was not yet a super power, Europe dominated the world political stage. European nations controlled colonial empires that stretched across the globe. European nations dominated the world economically, politically and military. Of the leading nations, arguably Great Britain was the most dominant followed closely by France and then the recently unified Germany. The United States