preview

Global Distribution And Balance Of Power

Better Essays

Every country differs in economic wealth, military might and political power. As one will soon see, this is not a universally agreeable proposition, but the United States is observed by some as the world’s sole superpower since the conclusion of the Cold War. Below, there will be an exploration of the literature on the global distribution and balance of power. Then, there will be an examination of the most stable global distribution. Additionally, the United States’ ideal strategy to keep its military superiority will be examined.
Since the conclusion of the Cold War and the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union, America is the world’s sole superpower. Militaristic option to try to balance the United States seems to be off the table …show more content…

Pape blames President George W. Bush’s “unilateral action” in several fronts for making it possible for other nations to balance the United States. The United States did not face balancing because of America’s reputation of being a team-player in the world stage. Per Pape that reputation no longer exists. As a matter of a fact, Pape believes that soft balancing is currently in the works and as an evidence for his hypothesis, he mentioned the Iraq war and the resistance of some of our supposedly staunchest allies such as France to essentially not go along with the United States’ plan at least initially. There is a very legitimate fear that unless the United States changes its unilateralism, soft balancing will continue to occur. (Pape, 2005)
Stephen M. Walt believes that although the United States is still strong, our influence over the world has declined. Mr. Walt predicted China will be the largest economy by 2025. One could argue this has already happened in terms of GDP. Countries such as India, Turkey, and Brazil are not yet ready to challenge the United States economically, but, within their own geographical region, they are becoming regional powers. Mr. Walt conceded that the United States will still be the most powerful country in the world, but the world will be a bipolar system, adding China as the other superpower in addition to the United States or perhaps the world will become a multipolar system with

Get Access