PAX AMERICANA AND THE MYTH OF DECLINING AMERICAN GLOBAL POWER, 1945-2020

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the power of the United States has declined in some respect. A power diffusion occurred and was most noticeable in the new millennium (from year 2000). The world witnessed power dispersion politically, socio-culturally, economically and in military terms. This necessitated further research into alleged declining American global power. A comparison was conducted among some great powers in respect to political, economic, scientific, and military prowess.This paper adopted the historical descriptive method and used the realist theory and theory of complex interdependence for framework and clarification. The findings revealeddegrees of increasedmultipolarity by a mix of established and emerging international actors across different sectors. There were increased collectivization in the global economy as exemplified by the likes of the European Union (EU), andBrazil Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS).Moreover, through concerted efforts great powers such as Russia, China as well as regional powers such as Iran and Turkey are making it increasingly difficult for the United States to unilaterally compel and dictate political and military outcomes especially in the Middle East. This paper concludes, that despite the decline across a number of sectors, the myth of American decline is however exaggerated. The United States is the common denominator of dominance across various sectors (political, military, scientific, technological, economic, educational, socio cultural). The United States of America remains the only true trans-dimensional superpower, and will likely continue to be a major source of global influence for a considerable period of time.