The American Influence in the post-Cold War Era: a Critical Perspective

IntroductionThe post-Cold War date of reference saw the end of the aboveboard bipolarity in international affairs, and the redistribution of power in the international system resulted in the revision of classic concepts of war, power, security and conflict. The brisk agenda for economical development of the poorest regions and their semipolitical integration in a globalizing world, led to an increased role of non-governmental organisations in unlike affairs (Cox, 2003 2008 Baylis & Smith, 2007 Brown, 2005 Strange, 2002). With globalization, the capacity of the state was undermined, and transnational corporations and global firms became the landmarks of a new world order, which some(prenominal) labelled as post-democracy (Crouch, 2004).In the age of post-democracy, the debate some the reorganization of power in the international system and the sustainability of the main continuities in US foreign policy such as handicraft liberalization and democratization became a questio n of new debate (Nye, 1990 Strange, 2002 Cox, 2003 2008). The question whether the United States was breathing out to preserve its economic and political primacy in a much more complex world divided experts, and existing theories of imperialism clashed with newly emerged visions of a multilateral world, where regulate and resources are shared among a relatively strong the States, and emerging Asian powers. This short essay pull up stakes critically examine the influence of the United States in the post Cold War world, and will explore whether the demise of the American dream for political and economic abandondom is really on its way. This will be observed in the context of US foreign policy. Research questionThis essay will explore whether the American dream and its replications in foreign policy is in its demise in the post-Cold War era. It will defend the view, that patronage the rising powers from Asia and the political and military capabilities of Russia, Israel and Iran, th e American continuities in foreign policy appease resilient and to a large extent sustainable in a multi-polar world.In order to do this, the author has decided to look at 2 specific tenets of US foreign policy and their sustainability as factors in global politics economic pile liberalism and democratization. Both of them will be discussed separately. First, the author will briefly mention the replications of the American dream in foreign policy. The American dream re-examined the foreign policy dimensionThe American dream generally reflects the American value, embedded in the ideas of social equality for all people and economic freedom. Its replications in foreign policy have had two shapes one is economic trade liberalization, and the other one is the spread of democracy.In the post Cold War era, theories related to the contested powers of the United States permeated the political discourse, and the ubiquity of the American influence in the world became a topic of discuss ion. According to Gowan (2008), one of the characteristic traits of American foreign policy has been the preservation of its capitalist policies, through the spread of liberal value all over the world. He argues that despite the rise of Asian powers, the US has managed to maintain its world empire image (347) through the sustainability of American dominated free market and institutions. The result of this post-Cold War strategy is the increasing political influence of the US in military and security issues. In sum, the American dream in foreign policy in the post-Cold War period can be looked at on two levels one is economic and is related with the ever expanding policies of trade liberalism. The other one is related to growing political power, stemming from the preservation of American controlled markets. For the purposes of this essay, both will be examined. The American economic liberalism in the new eraIn this section, it will not be sufficient to explore only the American mac roeconomic performance after the end of the post Cold War. First, we demand to briefly highlight the ideological tenets, on which this performance rests. The ideology, which has shaped the US performance since WWII is related to economic liberalism, free trade and cooperation, for the purposes of sustaining a capitalist molding of production (Gowan, 2008 Brown, 2005 Cox, 2003 2008). It rests on the image of liberal values and openness, which the US embraced during its expansion in Latin America in the 19th century. This image, described by some as American exceptionalism (Hunt, 1987 Levy, 2001) has remained continuity in US foreign policy, despite the changing conditions of the external political environment. The idea of open trade, dynamic industries and multi-lateral trade dealings are all tenets of the perpetuating image of the United States as a key player in trade and economics, and a proponent of capitalism. Although it is argued whether this consistency has revolved around economic multilateralism, mercantilism or neo-imperialism (Wallerstein, 2003 Gowan, 2008), its perpetuation in international affairs is undisputed.Despite the global recession and the rising Asian powers, the US has preserved its range as one of the leading powers in the global economy. Official figures for American gross domestic product show that since 1994, the American economy has grown at a significantly faster rate than other main advanced economies such as the Eurozone and Japan (Gowan, 2008). Growth declined sharply in 2001 and 2002 but find shortly after, and before the recession, figures show that the US total share in the global economic output has grown to 49.6 per cent (Gowan, 2008351). With the global recession, the American economic ideology was challenged, and the supremacy of the dollar as the world currency put to question because of issues related with mounting trade deficits and foreign debt. However, at present America remain one of the largest actors in t he global economy, because of its ascending productivity, increasing competitiveness and domineering trade relations. Undisputedly and despite the global economic conditions, the American market will always be attractive for capitalisms from the rest of the world, because of its enormous size (Gowan, 2008 Dam, 2004 Verdier, 1994). This would perpetually encourage other economic powers from Asia and Latin America for example, to accept American-centred economic regimes (Gowan, 2008 353). Also, the tangible American heading in the international financial institutions such as the sphere Bank and the International Monetary Fund, makes the US a prevalent power in terms of development economics and recovery. In this sense, the ideology and the structural characteristics of American capitalism have succeeded in a post-Cold war world, and despite the challenges ahead, at present the US remains a leading economic power. Democratization and the United States As the previous section briefly outlined, despite the unnerving challenges on the global horizon, which the US faces, it has managed to preserve its economic limit in the world. This economic position, however, is not simply the result of the rise of American capitalism indoors the world economy, but also of the political rise of the American values and the ability of the US to use its political power and influence in a globalizing world (Gowan, 2008). Authors such as Wallerstein (2003) and Gowan (2008) suggest that the US has managed to reshape the ideas of world peace and cooperation, through the historic preservation of its capitalist ideal. Also, the attempts to export democracy (Chua, 2004) and classless values in many parts of the developing world have led to the widespread influence of the United States. Some are willing to speculate, that this was a devised strategy, designed to sustain the position of the United States as a leading political power (Cox, 2003). What was labelled as neo-imperialism or the spread of American values through the use of soft power (Cox, 2003 Nye, 1990) is one of the main reasons, why the United States is likely to keep its place in the international system in the decades to come. The American democratic model has been exported to Africa, the Middle East and Latin America and despite the criticisms related to its implementation, it has served as a means for the preservation of the American position in foreign affairs. ConclusionThis essay has attempted to show, that despite the challenges on the US foreign policy agenda, its influence in the international system remains significant. Therefore it would be exaggerated to say that the American dream is a reminiscence of the political past. The most powerful manifestations of the perpetuating American presence in foreign affairs are related to economic liberalism and political exports, such as democracy, human rights, and social equality. In the post-Cold war period, the United States has continued to spr ead its influence, and has largely remained at the centre of international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. In terms of political governance, the American reflection remains uncontested. Americas greatest export commodity democracy has established a sphere of influence in the developing world, where the American presence will remain strong, at least for several decades to come. Whether one will take the mercanlitist, multilateralist or imperialist approach to understanding Americas future day role in the world is less relevant compared to the fact that the United States remains an important element in a shared world leadership, where the unload of China and Russia towards capitalism, and the rise of a global civil society, have already shifted the balance of power in a totally different direction.Bibliography Baylis, J. & Smith, S. (2007) eds, The Globalization of World Politics. Oxford Oxford University PressBrown, C., (2005) U nderstanding International Relations, Palgrave Macmillan, Ch. 6, pp. 106-123Chua, A. (2004) Our Most Dangerous export, Guardian, Saturday, February 28Available at http//www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/feb/28/globalisation.iraqCox, M. (2003) Empires Back in Town. Or Americas Imperial Temptation Again. Millennium Journal of International Studies. ISSN 0305-8298. Vol.32, No.1, pp. 1-27Cox, M. & Stokes, D. (2008) Introduction US Foreign Policy- Past, Present and Future, in US Foreign Policy, Cox, M. and Stokes, D. (eds), Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 3-23Crouch, C. (2004) Post Democracy, Polity PressDam, K.W. (2004) The Rules of the Global Game A New Look at US International sparing Policymaking, Chicago University of Chicago PressGowan, P. (2008) Global Economy, in US Foreign Policy, Michael Cox & Doug Stokes (eds), Oxford Oxford University Press, pp. 336-350Hunt, M. (1987) Ideology and US Foreign Policy. Yale University PressLevy, S.M. (2001). American Exceptionalism and US Foreign Policy. Palgrave, New YorkNye, J. S. (1990) Soft power, Foreign Policy (electronic source), issue 80 (Fall), pp.153-71.Strange, S. (2002) The Declining Authority of States, in The Global Transformations Reader an Introduction to the Globalization Debate, second edition, Held and McGrew (eds) Cambridge Polity Press, pp.127-134Verdier, D. (1994) Democracy and International Trade, Princeton Princeton University PressWallerstein, I. (2003) Historical Capitalism with Capitalist Civilization London Verso