What is Hegemony ? Bipolarity ?

1. Does American hegemony in the post-Cold War era create a safer world than the bipolar world of the Cold War?

2. What is Hegemony? Bipolarity? • Hegemony in global politics is a single superpower dominating global politics, the United States being the current hegemon since the end of the Cold War (a single power = unipolarity) • Bipolarity in global politics occurs when two superpowers share global power (i.e. Cold War)

3. Brief Overview • the post-Cold War era has the United States spear-heading globalization with an aggressive foreign policy • most notable and world changing event: 9/11 (the first attack on American soil since Pearl Harbour) • 9/11 was the starting point for the clash of civilizations between Islam and the West –Iraq, anti-Americanism, terrorism • nuclear proliferation – North Korea, Iran • the Cold War was the period of conflict, tension and competition between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies from the mid 1940s until the early 1990s • crises that threatened to escalate into world wars but never did: the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War • MAD- conventional military attacks on adversaries were deterred by the potential for massive destruction using nuclear weapons • The Cold War ended in the late 80’s and the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991 leaving the US as the sole superpower

4. Questions • Does American hegemony in the post-Cold War era create a safer world than the bipolar world of the Cold War? • How has the US been accelerating anti-Americanism in the Middle East and worldwide? • Why did the United States invade Iraq? • Does the United States foreign policy breed anti-Americanism? • What factors contributed to 9/11? • Is the war in Iraq a clash of civilizations? • How does nuclear proliferation in the post-Cold War era create a dangerous world?

5. Thesis American hegemony in the post-Cold War era creates a more perilous world than the bipolar world of the Cold War due to a clash between civilizations, unipolar globalization, and global terrorism and nuclear proliferation.

6. Arguments • Conflict between civilizations (instead of conflict between ideals), the West vs. the Middle East • Unipolar globalization, or globalization spear-headed by a single hegemon, the United States • Global terrorism and nuclear proliferation, including rogue states and nuclear terrorism

7. American hegemony in the post-Cold War era creates a more perilous world than the bipolar world of the Cold War due to a clash between civilizations, unipolar globalization, and global terrorism and nuclear proliferation. Argument 1: clash/conflict between civilizations • Differences in civilization are far more basic and unchangeable than differences in ideologies (i.e. Soviets can adopt democracy, but Russians cannot become Americans) • While the west is at the peak of its power, non-western civilizations are becoming more and more non-westernized to the point where they resist or challenge western hegemony • Despite America’s attempts to westernize/democratize the Islamic Civilization, hostilities only increase –inherit hostility between civilizations • Cold War world allowed the civilizations who opposed westernization to be kept in check by the Soviet Union

8. American hegemony in the post-Cold War era creates a more perilous world than the bipolar world of the Cold War due toa clash between civilizations, unipolar globalization, and global terrorism and nuclear proliferation. Argument 2: unipolar globalization • Difference between globalization now and globalization in the Cold War: globalization is superimposed onto a world with a single superpower • Single power not able to deal with all problems- multipolar world could have enough super powers to deal with all global problems • With global connectivity to only a single power, those states that cannot enter the network become partially failed states and resort to a black market economy (Afghanistan under Taliban) –multipolar world could effectively allow connection for such states • Countries that oppose the single hegemon will be forced to go rogue since they cannot side with an opposing superpower (North Korea)

9. American hegemony in the post-Cold War era creates a more perilous world than the bipolar world of the Cold War due toa clash between civilizations, unipolar globalization, and global terrorism and nuclear proliferation. Argument 3: global terrorism and nuclear proliferation • Global terrorism in the post-Cold War era is a significant problem, with another attack inevitably coming. -9/11 only beginning • Number of terrorist attacks in 2005: 11 111, 4x the number in 2004 -3500 of those occurred in Iraq alone • Nuclear proliferation in the post-Cold War era necessity for any states opposed to US (no more MAD) • states no longer protected by Russia’s nuclear umbrella are forced to dissuade the United States from using conventional force by using nuclear weapons • potential for rogue states faced with economic sanctions to sell nuclear weapons to terrorist organizations

10. Counter Arguments • Hatred existed between communism and democracy that fuelled conflict • Bipolar rivalry led to a global struggle that could have escalated into another world war, and led to many dangerous proxy wars resulting in the arming of many dangerous states • Nuclear proliferation was dangerously high during the Cold War with both powers stock piling huge arsenals; the Cuban Missile Crisis also nearly led to a nuclear war.

11. Works Cited • Frum, David. "Who Wins in Iraq? 4. Samuel Huntington." Foreign Policy (2007). • Gaddis, John L. "Setting Right a Dangerous World." The Chronicle Review (2002): B7. • Glasser, Susan B. Washington Post. 27 Apr. 2005. 19 Mar. 2007 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2005/04/26/AR2005042601623.html>. • Huntington, Samuel P. "The Clash of Civilizations?" Foreign Affairs 72.3 (1993). • Mishra, Rajesh Kumar. “Nuclear Terrorism: Potential threats in the post cold war world.” South Asia Analysis Group. 11 May 2001. 26 Feb. 2007 <http://www.saag.org/papers4/paper354.html> • Weber, Steven et al. "How Globalization Went Bad." Foreign Policy (2007). • Weber, Steven., and Ely Ratner. Los Angeles Times. 21 Jan. 2007. 19 Mar. 2007<http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/ suncommentary/la-op-weber21jan21,1,4564919.story?coll=la- headlines-suncomment&ctrack=1&cset=true>. Pictures courtesy of Google search