The united states as a world hegemon (ingles)

A hegemon, as defined by Robert Gilpin, “is the leader of an alliance”
(Gilpin, p99). Krasner and Gilpin both agree that the “hegemon
creat[e] a liberal international economy primarily to promote its own
interests and its political/security interests in particular”(Gilpin,
p99). With this in mind, it is crucial to examine the role that the
United States has played in international dealings.Has the United
States consistently pursued its own interests? Primarily, has the
United States been considered a hegemon by the international
community? If this is true, then what has the United States done
during its reign as a hegemonic leader? These questions will be
answered in this paper as well as the existence of international
regimes examined in relation to the hegemonic status ofthe United
States.

Hegemon, as defined above, allows the United States to be defined as a
leader, if in fact it is to be considered as a hegemon. First, the
status of the United States must first be defined as to whether it is
indeed a hegemon. During the nineteenth century and early twentieth
century, Britian stood out as a hegemon and the British pound was held
as the international basisfor currency value (Spero, p12). At the
conclusion of World War II, the United States dollar became the basis
for international monetary value and “the dollar became indispensable
for international trade, investment and finance” (Spero, p13). Since
the dollar was now being used to fluctuate the exchange rates and
intervene in international markets, the United States held the key tocontrolling foreign currency.

In the summer of 1944, forty-four nations converged in Bretton Woods,
New Hampshire with the unified goal creating an “international
monetary order” (Spero, p14). The combined belief was “that previous
monetary systems that relied primarily on market forces had proved
inadequate and that the world needed a publicly managed international
monetary order” (Spero, p14).Bretton Woods did indeed fufill the
task of creating international organizations to perform “monetary
functions for the international system” (Spero, p14). Bretton Woods
was “the result of international negotiations, primarily between the
United States and Great Britain” (Gilpin, p87). Europe lay in
economic ruins and Britain was unable to step up to the task due to
colonialism. They werebeing forced to withdraw from India and
Palestine due to economic difficulties. Therefore, the pound was
unable to meet the demand for worldwide economic stability. The
United States therefore undertook the role of leadership, replacing
Great Britain as a world hegemon.

During the United States’ reign as a hegemonic power, many things have
been achieved concerning international well-being. Onewell known
example is the Bretton Woods Conference which created organizations
such as the GATT, World Bank and the IMF. Some less known examples
would be programs encouraged by the United States such as aid to Japan
and Europe “designed to rebuild productive and export capacity”
(Spero, p.17). The United States has also tolerated discriminations
against the U.S. dollar. For example, theU.S. allowed a surplus of
Japanese exports while “accepting Japanese restrictions against U.S.
exports” (Spero, p.17). Not only that, but the U.S. also supported
the European Payments Union that discriminated against the dollar
(Spero, p.17). This was all done in the spirit of promoting economic
growth in Europe and Japan. They both recovered and expanded their
markets which benefited theUnited States ultimately, due to the
expansion of the dollar outflow. However, the United States acted on
behalf of other nations, expanding their market.

Concerning the pursuance of U.S. interests, Robert Gilpin gives a
perfect example. During the Nixon era in 1971, the President decided
to “destroy the system of fixed exchange rates because he believed
that it no longer suited American...