The United States In The 21 Century- The Perspectives For The Omnipower

The United States in the 21 century- the perspectives for the omnipower

Introduction.

The dictionary defines "power" as "capability of producing an effect" or, what is probably more directly relevant for normal use in the international arena, "possession of controlling influence over others." Military power involves the capability to coerce a recalcitrant party. That possibility, combined with a perception that the possessor has the will to use it if necessary, is often sufficient to attain the desired effect. Economic power by analogy involves the capability decisively to punish (or to reward ) another party, according to whether that party responds in the desired way, combined with a perception that the possessor has the will or political ability to use it if necessary . Political power is a type of power held by a person or a group in society. Which is not limited to the heads of states, however, such a power is related to the amount of societal influence they can wield formally and informally.

With the end of the Cold War, which created a fairly stable and mostly predictable world order until 9/11/01, many academic and journalistic pundits have claimed that the United States was a " superpower," for over a hundred years and the greatest military potential for most of that time as well. If so, what exactly does it mean? Will USA continue to influence worldwide the globe, or another power is going to take its palce? In short, where America is going? This paper will briefly discuss the concept of economic, military and political power of United States trying at the same time to point out the perspectives of USA to continue to be the world's omnipower in 21 century.

Foreign relations and military

It is clear that during the 20th century, the United States progressed from a follower into a viable competitor and finally a leader in science and technology. Before World War II, the United States did not have anything at the federal level that might be called a science and technology policy aside from the areas of agriculture, standards, and aeronautics . Its leadership position has been aided by a continual stream of talented immigrants and by the fact that the country was essentially the only industrialized nation not severely damaged by the violence of World War II . Since the early days of its history, American overseas presence has been on the front line of efforts to build support for democracy, to maintain peace, and to promote prosperity around the world. With a developing global economy, the end of the Cold War, the spread of democracy, and the expanding use of new information technology, U.S. foreign operations face a very different environment. People, ideas, and goods now move more freely than ever across national boundaries. More citizens in more countries participate more fully in the political, social, and economic life of the world. These are developments America has long sought .

The United States has vast economic, political, and military influence on a global scale, which makes its foreign policy a subject of great interest and discussion around the world. Almost all countries have embassies in Washington, D.C, and consulates around the country. However, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan do not have formal diplomatic relations with the United States.

The United States has a long-standing tradition of civilian control over military affairs. The Department of Defense administers the U.S. armed forces, which comprise the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Air Force. The United States is considered to have the most powerful military in the world, partly because of the size of its defense budget; American defense expenditures in 2005 were estimated to be greater than the next 14 largest national military budgets combined. Even though the U.S. military budget is only about 4% of the country's gross domestic product. It also has bases on every continent except Antarctica. Today America's principal military allies include Australia, Japan, and the NATO member states, with the United Kingdom being America's closest ally.

While the United States today is the world’s the only economic and military superpower, it cannot be said with certainty that this dominance will last forever. Maintaining military superpower status is important matter as the national interests of USA are global. There is a general agreement that the nation must have the capability to protect those interests. In plain terms it means that no nation or combination of nations can be allowed to militarily threaten the United States. This does not mean, however, that the United States alone must be equal to various threats to its security and interest. An acceptable outcome would be one where America, along with allies, can balance, and hopefully exceed, the military capability of any potential adversary. Should, however, such adversary or adversaries become dominant in one or more regions of the world then, as history shows, conflict is the more likely result .

From the end of World War II into the 1990s, a third world conflict was avoided by a balance of power as between the U.S. led NATO and the Soviet Union led Warsaw Pact. Maintaining such a balance today is absolutely essential to America’s security. But that is easier said than done. In many cases the USA’s national interests will not coincide with those of long time allies. NATO supported the U.S. led invasion of Afghanistan but split with respect to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. And in another part of the world, would NATO militarily support the United States should it become necessary to defend Taiwan against an invasion by the People’s Republic of China? Not likely .Japan, Australia, Singapore, the Philippines and possibly South Korea might stand with the United States but be able to contribute little with respect to military assistance. Continuing the scenario, assume Russia, China and North Korea support a PRC attack on Taiwan. The problem for America is that in different conflict scenarios. Traditional allies may not see its way and simply opt out. This presents both a diplomatic and military dilemma. How to forge and maintain alliances that can militarily equal or exceed those of a potential enemy when the threat itself is unknown?

Today International relations are also more complicated than ever. America’s foreign policy focused largely on maintaining military preparedness and on influencing the alignment of nations. Conflicts over religion and ethnicity have the potential to draw USA into humanitarian crises and regional conflicts. Thousands of Americans representing their nation abroad