Today's issues are very complex. Ranging from the increasing influence of new regional powers and threats from rogue states to climate control and global warming, the global community has never had so many problems of this magnitude arise at once. As the sole superpower of today's world the United States has a unique role to play in the upcoming years. Two of the most important concerns are American Hegemony and the Transatlantic Alliance. Both are controversial issues in American society, often causing splits in political ideologies. The two issues are also inextricably linked in modern political thought in ways that escape casual observation.
American Hegemony is a term that has had great publicity in recent years, especially since the fall of the Soviet Union. However, the term did not start there. In fact American influence in the affairs of other countries stretches back to the Monroe Doctrine in 1823. It was expanded in 1904 by President Theodore Roosevelt and his Roosevelt Corollary. However, the people of the United States have always like to consider themselves as an isolationist country, regarding their sphere of influence over the Western Hemisphere as more of an internal affair. In fact for most of the 1800s the foreign policy of America was not to have one. In President Wilson's terms in office he attempted to change this and bring America onto the world stage. He wanted to take an active role in global government, advocating international government and the end of conflict. However the American people rejected such a "Wilsonian" doctrine and Wilson's death shut the book for nearly three decades. However, after World War II the United States could not allow the Soviet Union to establish a large sphere of influence so expanded its own over Western Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East. Today, in a unipolar world, American faces challenges to her power in rising nations such as China, India, the European Union, Russia, and Japan. These regional powers are increasingly defiant of American influence. "History" has returned and with it nationalism and economic competition are stronger than ever. It is in this light that we must consider the fate of the Transatlantic Alliance.
The link that has brought the Western world to the pinnacle of success and achievement is failing. The union between American and European ideas that has formed since 1945 is in its most dire straits. At the root of this problem lies respect for international law. Weak power's play with weak tactics and in the military sense Europe is a very weak power. This is reflected in Europe's reaction to the Bush Doctrine, which include the three main ideas of Regime Change, Preemption, and Unilateralism. These are tools that have historically been hallmarks of world powers. Not even the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 stopped European powers from acting on their own and interfering in each other's affairs. However, Europe has since achieved a Kantian Post-Cold War society and abhorred the power politics and Hobbesian techniques that, in their experience, led to the horrors of World Wars I and II. They have put their faith in the European Union and other supranational organizations. The United States has always been jealous of its own sovereignty and has refused to bow to international law when it interferes with national interests, as the Great Powers of Europe did in the previous four centuries. This has led to a desire in Europe to control what they see as a "Rogue Superpower" and exert more control over its actions which in turn leads to suspicion in the United States over Europe's intentions as can be seen by its misgivings over the invoking of article five of the NATO charter in the aftermath of 9/11. This rift has been exploited by nations such as Russia and Iran, as well as by terrorists attempting to disturb the cohesion of the Western world. This must not be allowed.
America currently lives a double standard, attempting to play in the Kantian realm why defending it from the brutish Hobbesian world, the proverbial guard on the walls. America cannot abandon its commitments and live in a supranational era as long as there are threats abound. It must keep its benevolent hegemony to promote peace and freedom. Europe needs to accept this. As long as great powers continue to compete the world will not be able to fully embrace Wilsonian and Kantian philosophies. American Hegemony and the Transatlantic Alliance should be preserved for the benefit of all humankind.
