Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

At the dawn of the 2 1s" century, there are none who would argue against the fact that America's affluence and accompanying influence, whether political, military, economic, financial, or cultural, are unparalleled by any other nation. In other words it is a hegemonic power. That is where, however, the concurrence comes to an end.

Currently, there has been an increasing debate not only about the nature of past American hegemony but also about a newly evolving American hegemony. Over the past two decades there has been much debate about the smoldering resentment of American hegemony that has been ever increasing as the costs and benefits of globalization and capital mobility are spread erratically over the world economies coupled with growing global income inequity trends. There can be, however, very little debate about the recent marked increased visibility of America's hegemon status which is directly associated with the current administration's actions and words, adding more fuel to the hegemon firestorm.

It is important to understand that in this recent hegemon firestorm a distinction must be made on American hegemonic "power" versus American "authority."' Samuel Berger (former assistant to President Clinton for National Security Affairs) states that American hegemonic "[p]ower is the ability to compel by [political or military] force and [economic] sanctions" while American hegemonic "[a]uthority is the ability to lead."'2 "[American] authority is built on very different qualities than [American] power: on the attractiveness of [American] values, on the force of [American] example, on the credibility of [American] commitments and on the credibility of [American] commitments and on our willingness to work with and stand by others."3 He argues that whereas America's hegemonic power is undisputed, its authority, however, is in question." This is the current changing nature of the new American hegemony.

In an insightful warning given by Berger during his remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations in 1999, he said the danger for America ". . . lies in the impulse to withdraw from the world in a way that would squander our advantages, alienate our friends, diminish our credibility, betray our values, and discredit our example."5 Much has come to pass and in this changing perception of the new American hegemony we are beginning to be viewed by our allies as a unilateralist and too big and influential for our own or anyone else's good.

This article explores the nature and changing perception of the new American hegemony and will focus on the European perspective of this issue. It should be noted that all great empires have been resented despite the degree of good or bad they are perceived to have done (including the well-intentioned hegemons). It is difficult for the Europeans (specifically France) to assert the wrongs of American hegemony as their own erratic and often-perceived self-serving involvement in the world has eroded their credibility over time. The Third World perhaps has a much more legitimate grievance of American's hegemony. The question to ask today is "if not us America, then who?"

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