Power Shift In The United States

Is the US hegemon in decline? Is there a power shift in the making? In order to answer these questions, it is important to define the concept of power. There are two types, hard and soft power, both of which play an important role in determining the sovereignty of a state. Hard power may be seen as coercive and based on tangible resources, for example economic power or the military. This contrasts with soft power which refers to intangible resources such as culture or history. The post-Cold War era had seen the US become a hegemon; dominating over the rest of the world, but now a tremendous power shift is underway as the West declines and the East rises in power. Here I will argue whether the world order is changing; discussing the fall of the US, the rise China and whether power could also be shifting to Europe.

The fall of the US hegemony was triggered by the lack of response to the 9/11 attacks and this elicited a domino effect. The financial crisis of 2008 caused an immense setback as people’s trust in America diminished. Moreover, the wrongly started wars in Iraq and Afghanistan [1] has reduced the power in America, due to its illegality and opposition from established allies. Before the start of the Cold War, there was an incentive for Democrats and Republicans, two opposing parties, to collaborate; working together to eradicate the risks it faced from other states. However, since the end, there has been a lack of impetus for these parties to work together resulting in the growing vulnerability of the US