As I see it | An America without independent institutions cannot stay No 1

As I see it | An America without independent institutions cannot stay No 1

When you buy a stock, you are paying for future profits, not current earnings. It seems that a similar principle applies to countries. The fact that a company or a country is at the top now means nothing if the main indicators are flashing red. I am reminded of this investment adage by a new…

When you buy a stock, you are paying for future profits, not current earnings. It seems that a similar principle applies to countries. The fact that a company or a country is at the top now means nothing if the main indicators are flashing red.

I am reminded of this investment adage by a new article in Foreign Affairs, titled “The Multipolar Delusion and the Unilateral Temptation”. It argues there has been, and still is, only one hegemonic pole in the international order, and that is the United States.

“Political leaders, diplomats and analysts routinely declare that unrivalled American dominance has ended and global power is now dispersed across multiple centres,” the author C. Raja Mohan wrote. “The assertion has become so commonplace that it is often treated as a self-evident fact rather than a proposition to be examined.”

From the title, you know what Mohan is going to argue. “The number of genuine poles in the world today is the same as it has been for the past 35 years: one,” he wrote.

That seems like a statement of fact. After all, the US military outspends and outguns everyone. Anyone who wants to start a war with Uncle Sam would just commit suicide. As recent events have shown, the US can kidnap a foreign head of state, collapse a whole economy and make allies and foes alike admit defeat.

Most interesting is that the article argues only the US can restrain its own powers. Now that everyone is claiming the moment of multipolarity has arrived, it doesn’t need to act with restraint any more.

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