The top dogs don’t occupy the number #1 spot forever. If there’s one iron rule of politics is that hegemony is not perpetually guaranteed.
Since the dust settled from World War II, the United States has been the pre-imminent superpower on the world stage. From its business prowess to its military might, the US has left the world awestruck for decades.
Millions from the Third World would risk it all to have a slice of the American Dream. Countless nations, who perhaps hated the US, would tread lightly during this period, lest they wanted to get thumped militarily.
For decades, regardless of whether nations admired or despised the US, it was treated as the premier superpower on the planet. The US’s status was never in doubt.
However, things have been changing over the last 15 years. The Global Financial Crisis coupled with the emergence of China and Russia as near peer competitors on the world stage has given policymakers in the US a reality check.
The US can longer spend or print money to its heart’s content, nor can it go around policing the world at will like it did during its “unipolar moment” during the 1990s. We’re witnessing a breakdown of the previous international order in real time. New alliances and partnerships will be formed as new powers enter the geopolitical arena and assert their own interests.
Times of dramatic changes require adaptation. Those who fail to adapt to these new circumstances will ultimately get blown away.