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

IntroductionThe post-Cold warfare era saw the oddment of the simple bipolarity in international affairs, and the redistribution of power in the international trunk resulted in the revision of classic concepts of war, power, protection and conflict. The new agenda for frugalal development of the poorest regions and their policy-making integration in a planetaryizing adult male, led to an increase utilization of non-governmental organisations in unconnected 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 labeled as post-democracy (Crouch, 2004).In the age of post-democracy, the debate around the reorganization of power in the international trunk and the sustainability of the main continuities in US contrasted indemnity much(prenominal) as disdain liberalization and democratization be came a incertitude of new debate (Nye, 1990 Strange, 2002 Cox, 2003 2008). The question whether the fall in States was going 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 see and resources ar shared among a relatively strong America, and emerging Asian powers. This pitiful essay bequeath critically examine the form of the fall in States in the post Cold War world, and leave behind explore whether the demise of the American daydream for political and economic freedom is really on its way. This lead be observed in the context of US foreign policy. enquiry 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 despite the rising powers from Asia and the political and military capabilities of Russia, Israel and Ir an, the American continuities in foreign policy breathe resilient and to a large finish sustainable in a multi-polar world.In order to do this, the agent has decided to look at devil specific tenets of US foreign policy and their sustainability as factors in global politics economic quite a little liberalism and democratization. Both of them will be discussed separately. First, the author will briefly detect the replications of the American dream in foreign policy. The American dream re-examined the foreign policy dimensionThe American dream largely reflects the American values, infix in the ideas of social equality for all people and economic freedom. Its replications in foreign policy have had two shapes nonpareil is economic trade liberalization, and the other ane is the airing of democracy.In the post Cold War era, theories related to the contested powers of the unify States permeated the political discourse, and the ubiquity of the American influence in the world became a topic of discussion. According to Gowan (2008), one of the feature article traits of American foreign policy has been the preservation of its capitalistic policies, by dint of the spread of liberal values all over the world. He argues that despite the upgrade 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 dodging 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 suffi cient to explore only the American macroeconomic performance after the end of the post Cold War. First, we make 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 model of production (Gowan, 2008 Brown, 2005 Cox, 2003 2008). It rests on the image of liberal values and centripetalness, which the US embraced during its expansion in Latin America in the 19th century. This image, depict 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 relations are all tenets of the perpetuating image of the United States as a key player in trade and economics, and a proponent of capitalist economy. Although it is argu ed 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 respite and the rising Asian powers, the US has preserved its localize as one of the leading powers in the global economy. Official figures for American gross ho uptake servant 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 regain 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 coin put to question because of issues related with mounting trade deficits and foreign debt. However, at present America cadaver one of the largest actors in the global economy, because of its rise 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 battlefront in the international financial institutions such as the World bevel and the International Monetary Fund, makes the US a dominant 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. democratiza tion and the United States As the previous section briefly outlined, despite the terrible challenges on the global horizon, which the US faces, it has managed to preserve its economic carriage in the world. This economic position, however, is not simply the result of the rise of American capitalism within 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 trade democracy (Chua, 2004) and democratic values in many part 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 p ower (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 in all probability 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 movement in foreign affairs are related to economic liberalism and political exports, such as democracy, human rights, and social equal ity. In the post-Cold war period, the United States has continued to spread 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 formula remains uncontested. Americas greatest export commodity democracy has established a cranial orbit 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 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 flutter 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 globalisa tion of World Politics. Oxford Oxford University fightBrown, C., (2005) Understanding 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 come-on Again. Millennium Journal of International Studies. ISSN 0305-8298. Vol.32, No.1, pp. 1-27Cox, M. & Stokes, D. 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