POLS3391 American Place in the World Essay (Essay Sample)

POLS3391: American Place in the World Essay Student’s Name: Institutional Affiliation: Course Code: Course Name: Professor’s Name: Date: POLS3391: American Place in the World Essay During the 20th century, the US international role changed profoundly, especially at the beginning of World War 1. The American republic exercised imperial power before the start of the Great War. Between 1914 and 1991, the US became a distinctive and dominant power (Cohrs, 2018). Over the last decade, the world has been experiencing a global power transition. However, there are consequences associated with global order power shifts. This paper seeks to establish whether the US should continue promoting Pax Americana and Liberal International Order in the Post-cold War Era. Positive Factors Recently many people have ignited debates concerning American decline and the American global supremacy getting tilted to China. These three factors express why Pax Americana should continue; financial prowess, continuous economic growth, and technological innovation. * Continuous Economic growth Globally, the American economy continues to hold the leading position. The US total economic output has risen to twenty trillion dollars creating a large margin for China, the second country with a recent rapid economic growth (Cohrs, 2018). In 1980, the US contribution to the world GDP was 25.2%. This GDP had risen continuously except in 2018 when it dropped to 23.9%. Compared with other countries and nations like the European nations, the decrease was minimal because the EU world GDP fell to 22% from 34.6%. * Technological Innovation Technological growth is viewed as essential in productivity growth which leads to capitalism. The US has maintained a leading position in technological innovation. It was ranked 3rd in 2019 based on the global innovation index, which measures the global innovation system (Cohrs, 2018). Technically, the US and China have been competing in technological innovation, but China is considered to have become more innovative in 2017 and still experiences low innovation efficiency depicting an essential factor to the Pax Americana continuity. * Financial Prowess The greenback still illuminates American supremacy because the US dollar continues to be the settlement currency for numerous international payments. The network swift for financial services elucidates that the US dollar was used in international payments at 45.78% in May 2020. Investors continue to chase the US treasury bills even during international economic uncertainties. For such reasons and positive impact on the global financial status of various countries, the US should continue promoting Pax Americana. Negative Factors Researchers have given various reasons why Pax Americana will decline. These reasons include; political division, military policy ineffectiveness, and reduced influential ability. * Political Division Over the last decade, America has been experiencing political pressures and divisions between the republicans and democratic. The political era of Donald Trump ignited hostility towards international allies, free trade, and international institutions (Mueller, 2020). This aspect demonstrated the US's lack of interest in upholding the liberal global era. Such political decisions would prevent the continuity of Pax Americana. * Military Policy ineffectiveness Following the 9/11 terror events, the US military policy was formed under vast overreaction. The military force changed its strategies of ensuring international security by replacing the policing aspect with full force. For instance, the US used military force to attack a group in the Afghanistan base and fight the Taliban regime, although they were not involved in the 9/11 events. The US military involved itself in massive destructive civil wars leading to armed opposition worldwide (Mueller, 2020). Such activities place the US state in a controversial position concerning its power in ensuring international security. * Reduced Influential Ability Initially, the US had highly influential powers in every aspect ranging from being a leading manufacturer to enormous economic growth. The US has been using Pax Americana by deploy...