HEGEMONY

• To be a Hegemon, a state must have three attributes

o The Capability to enforce the rules of the system
o The Will to do so
o A Commitment to a system which is perceived as mutually beneficial to the major states.
• Capability rests upon three attributes:
o A large, growing economy
o Dominance in a leading technological or economic sector;
o Political power backed up by projective military power.
• Not just power, but how we use it
• Grand Strategy
o Collin –
o Task of negotiating and defining means and ends
o Things we’re interested in doing and the means we have to do them
o Purpose
 Open global markets, trade
 Secure assets – oil, resources, etc.
 Prevent rise of regional hegemons
o Democratization
o Counter-terror
o Protect allies & US homeland
• Means –
o Large military
 Technologic superiority
• B2 bomber – weapons based in US, can be deployed
• Best intelligence
 Power projection – bases
o Large economy
 Funds military
o Political power
o Allies
 Cooperation, burden sharing
o The rise and fall of great powers
 Economic shifts, power projection
o US is 24% of global economy
 Not sufficient to be a hegemon if counter efforts are present
 Our allies are key to sustain our hegemonic role
 EU 27%, Japan8%, China 9%, Russia, Brazil, India, Canada 2%
• History
o Pre-WWI: not much concern over eastern hemisphere
o Monroe Doctrine: prevent hegemon rise in western hemisphere
o WWII –
 Fear rise of hostile rival
 Kennen – believe USSR is hostile but not aggressive
• Contain, don’t let them expand
 GDP can determine the power of a nation, country domination
o NATO/ UN
 Protect allies

o Vietnam War
 Domino theory – prevent spread of communism
  Resist communism in all instances
 Kissinger takes US back to a selective standpoint – not solve ALL instances – just ones that help
us
 Carter adds human rights, he gets defeated, human rights taken off the list
o Cold War
 Unsure why US needs forces in Europe anymore
 Add non-proliferation goals
o Bush
 Adds terrorism and democracy as goals
 Bush Doctrine
o Today
 Perception of no grand plan – too many goals
• Alternatives
o Offshore balancing
 strategy where a great power uses favored regional powers to check the rise of potential hostile
powers
 allies can do basic job of deterrence
 believe US should end security guarantees – allow countries to leech off of US
 unnecessary for US to fight all instances

o Isolationism
o Selective engagement
o Distinguish between essential and peripheral interest
• Debate
o Heg high/sustainable
 Is unipolarity inevitable? multipolar rise?
 Rise of the rest (Fareed Zakari)
 Balancing or bandwagoning?
• Balance against US or follow in suit
 Structural v. imbalance
• US deficit shows US heg will collapse
 Area-denial strategies
• US will have enough military superiority to maintain ahead in conflict
• Prevents US from coming to certain areas
• US naval ships blocked
 Essential to debate
o Should allies be strong or weak?
 Nuclear proliferation
• Should they be able to develop own nuke arsenal
• Extended deterrence uncredible?
 Deterance
 Security dilemma
• Security K horrible
• Us resolves the security dilemma – allies can remain weak – US defense of intentions
o Withdraw encourages aggression, withdrawal
• Entanglement theory
o US has power to decide
o Rational options
o Unilateral v. Multilateral
 Unilateral leads to bandwagoning
o Change strategy to access hegemony
 Credibility – perception of power
  Solve stretch, overreach
 Resolve DA, pltx
o Strategy
 Heg good/ heg bad debates
 Transitional wars
 Brooks and walfroe cards
o Go beyond heg literature
 Entanglement (Lane/Carpenter)
Heg good
• Defense
o Heg debates won on defense
o Have a card that responds to heg key to global stability
o Eugene Goles 1997 – “come home America”
o Barry Posen – “The case for restraint”
o Answeres to overtrech, entanglement, etc.
• Know what you need to do to win
o Read the proper cards
 Heg solves war
 Global stability now
 Heg sustainable
• Subsets
o No balancing
o Yes alliance credibility
o Ally cred will decrease, kill heg
Heg bad
• Heg unsustainable
• Plan not effect heg bad
• DEFINE MOTIVATION OF COUNTRIES, PROBABILITY OF CONFLICT
• Good impact calc –

Aff suggestions:
• Don’t lose on link turn
• Recognize 2 good areas of offense – overstretch and alliance restructuring
• Why it’s sufficient for hegemony
• Keep magnitude of solvency for heg

Heg impact calc-

• Read heg solves all impacts
• Kicking out with collapse of heg inevitable – works sometimes
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