After Us Hegemony What

April 2, 2012
Reaction Paper: After Hegemony What?
By Lisette Rivera

The economy of this country is going through some of its most difficult moments. The subprime crisis has led several economic sectors to see their growth reduced. The current economic tensions have been causing a loss of confidence in the value of the dollar. The weakening of the dollar that used to be stable and a globalreference, has led other countries to consider the euro as an alternative to replace it: “Alternative stock exchanges are springing up and drawing away companies from the U.S. exchanges and even launching initial public offerings; The dollar has weakened against the euro and the British pound, and it is likely to Asian currencies as well”
The external debt of this country is gigantic, the tradebalance is not in the best of times, the disapproval of interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the economic rise of China are factors that lead to think that the US is losing the place as a superpower. In the case of Latin America, Augusto Varas says “the European Union, NATO, Japan, Russia, China and Iran provide investment, markets, finances, energy, arms, telecommunications and technology,amongst other things. Such new global realities limit the US’ capacity to influence its Latin partners’ international stance”. In addition to that, countries like Venezuela or Brazil have started new projects and initiatives without the help and incorporation of the US such as the ALBA, UNASUR, the proposed South American Defense Council, or Organization of American States by Mexico.
Again AugustoVaras says: “All of these initiatives show the currently limited role of the USA in the Western Hemisphere and the existence of a political will – present throughout the region - to establish institutions without its presence”. Given this panorama, countries like China, Russia, India and the group formed by the European Union are those who recorded further growth and are seen as the next probablesuperpowers. So the first question will be: Is America losing hegemony as world power?
To answer that question we must remember what hegemony means. For being a hegemon, that country must have the ability to change the behavior of other states and achieve their own goals. Furthermore, it must have a force in all aspects: political, technological, cultural, scientific and military; in addition tohave the control of strategic natural resources like oil, gas, water or other minerals plays a central role in the world. Following this logic, then the war in Iraq is not a struggle between civilizations or cultures, between the Christian West and the fundamentalist Islamic world, or a struggle for democracy, but an imperialist war for control of a strategic raw material.
Now, this militaryintervention threatens world peace, but also questions the U.S. hegemony because it brings the loss of approval by other countries, and makes countries such as the ones in Latin America turn to leftist governments, and search for implementation and alternatives to development with other allies. But on the other hand, the obvious loss of hegemony makes the US remember why LA is important for them andso it makes the US “recover” its allies.
As mentioned by Abraham Lowenthal in “Fresh Start or False Start?” Latin America matters as a prime source of energy and other key resources, and as a major market for U.S. goods and services. Moreover, Latin America is perceived in Washington as increasingly significant for confronting transnational issues such as energy security, global warming,pollution and other environmental concerns, crime, narcotics, and public health. These issues cannot be solved or managed without close and sustained cooperation from the many countries of the Americas. And finally, the “intermestic” issues are vital for America’s future, and that is why Obama’s administration has taken a strong interest in the region even though there are other issues threatening the...