Managing hegemonic expectations

My latest column at The National Interest online is now available.  It takes a closer look at the mismatch between domestic and foreign expectations of American hegemony.  I also throw in some international relations theory: While the Obama administration and the American people might be content with the notion of America as just another country, ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

My latest column at The National Interest online is now available.  It takes a closer look at the mismatch between domestic and foreign expectations of American hegemony.  I also throw in some international relations theory:

My latest column at The National Interest online is now available.  It takes a closer look at the mismatch between domestic and foreign expectations of American hegemony.  I also throw in some international relations theory:

While the Obama administration and the American people might be content with the notion of America as just another country, this sentiment raises some uncomfortable questions. There is the factual one: is America really just one of many nations? Despite everything that has befallen the United States during this decade, the fact remains that by standard metrics—GDP, military might, cultural attraction—the United States is far and away the most powerful country in the world. This fact is so glaring that even academics are starting to acknowledge it. Stephen Brooks and William Wohlforth wrote an entire book on the durability of American unipolarity. World Politics published a special issue this year on the nature of the unipolar era.

Go check it out! 

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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