US Military Hegemony Already Declining – Unsustainable Without Cooperation Between Powers

The international system and politics are transiting in nature, ordained with continuity and change, hence, can neither remain static nor stable for a longer duration. As posited by Kennedy, the imperial overstretch of the US will eventually cause its decline as it did happen to previous superpowers. The unipolarity of the US power structure, gained in the post-Cold War era, may not last long as it was designed to suit its hegemonic and national interests, hence, contested by other emerging powers. This rapid decline is the result of an overstretch caused by her hegemonic obligations and preponderant military and economic power to invariably get involved in the global issues with the desire to meld the events in its favor. Following the footsteps of her predecessors like the Roman Empire, British Empire, and the recently melted Soviet Empire, the trajectory of the downwards spiral is a reality, not a myth.

For longevity of its dominance in international relations, the US needs to revisit its military, economic and political relationship with the rising powers since the choices and options adopted by the contesting powers would remain beyond its purview. An approach based on cooperation and mutual co-existence through economic interdependency may be the sole option left with the superpower to reconcile with the political, economic, and military differences to survive with the acquired status.