AMERICA HAS DOMINATED WORLD AFFAIRS BY BEING THE SOLE SUPERPOWER SINCE MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY, THIS HAS HAD PROFOUND IMPLICATIONS ON GLOBAL AFFAIRS SINCE LONG. BUT NOW, THINGS MAY CHANGE RAPIDLY. HERE'S WHY.
Since the end of World War Two, USA has had control over the pulse of global trends. It has dominated in all spheres. The vanquishment of USSR in the Cold War further strengthened its position. Be it military, diplomacy, soft war, trade, economy, business or even cultural influences. America has been a mythical land, an avenue of dreams for millions around the world. However, its numero uno status has been threatened like never before.
FACTORS LEADING TO THIS DECLINE:
USA had no military adversary who could match its capabilities for a long time. However, the emergence of China has changed the dynamics. Military might is the show of hard power & Beijing has not shied away from displaying it either. It has rapidly modernized its military & increased military expenditure exponentially.Even American allies like Israel & foes like Russia have mastered one aspect of military atleast. (Example: Israel military tech)
Another area of contention has been trade. America was known as a trading powerhouse who was the origin of exported goods. But American trade deficit has increased on a yearly basis. Trade Deficit means imports are more than exports. This shows a decline in trade prowess of USA.
The coronavirus pandemic exposed the lack of global leadership especially from Trump's United States. There is a clear lack of unified in finding a vaccine for the virus. These developments have proved global organisations like UN & WHO redundant which have traditionally been controlled by the Americans. Shockingly, Trump has even revealed plans to exit the WTO! So this can lead to less control by USA on global affairs.
During the Cold War era, USA was a part of multi-national organisations like NATO, IMF and WB. However it exercises minimal influence over European Union, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, ASEAN, SAARC and Eurasian Economic Union where regional powers like Germany, China, Vietnam, India & Russia exert their leadership and authority.
America was the first country to use an atom bomb in warfare. Since then, Nukes have been developed by many other nations. So now USA does not hold a monopoly on this destructive weapon. In fact, Russia now has more nukes than USA!
ALL IS NOT LOST
Americans has been written off in various instances in the past. Be it during the pearl harbor attack, the cold war or even during the financial crisis of 2007. But USA has faced these challenges head on and always bounced back. America has a few advantages in the form of:
Lead in the space race with the entry of private players like SpaceX, BlueOrigin & Virgin Hyperloop and also the expertise of NASA.
Innovation has always been a catalyst for American economy. USA has the most number of unicorns (Private companies having valuation of more than a billion) & Fortune 500 companies implying leadership in business.
America has built a strong network of allies in every region of the world. This can be of advantage in case of direct conflict.
American GDP is leaps & bounds ahead of so called rising giants like India & China by a large margin.
WHETHER AMERICA REMAINS THE SOLE SUPERPOWER OR NOT WILL DEPEND LARGELY ON HOW IT DEALS WITH THIS PANDEMIC ON A GLOBAL SCALE, WHO WINS THE ELECTIONS, HOW CHINESE LEADERS ACT & ALSO IF THE AMERICANS ASSUME LEADERSHIP IN AI & OTHER EMERGING TRENS.
THATS ALL PEEPS.
HAVE A GOOD ONE.