The End of American Hegemony: Reviving the Cold War Era
"The age of American hegemony, which began after the Cold War, is rapidly ending. As a result, we are regressing to a Cold War-era global dynamic."
A Note From Garrett: Before diving into this week’s article, I wanted to mention that author and columnist, Joe Bruno, highlighted my most recent article on his Substack. In that article, I examined the baseless Brian Flores lawsuit. I truly appreciate the recognition and support of Joe.
Joe writes the “Conservative Rantings” newsletter on Substack. I encourage each of you to check out “Conservative Rantings.” I have read Joe’s commentary since joining Substack. He provides a rational, conservative perspective on all of the current issues in the news.
The Importance of American Hegemony
The landscape of the world stage is shifting. The age of American hegemony, which began after the Cold War, is rapidly ending. As a result, we are regressing to a Cold War-era global dynamic.
In the United States, members of both the left and the isolationist right rebuke America's role as the world's hegemonic power. The left maintains a pacifist view seeking to avoid conflict at any cost, even if it ultimately harms the United States or diminishes its global power. The left prefers to appease foreign adversaries, viewing appeasement as a legitimate alternative to conflict. On the other hand, the isolationist right fallaciously believes that we can ignore conflicts abroad without any consequence domestically. Both groups fail to understand that if the United States vacates the role of the world's primary power, it opens the door for our adversaries to become stronger and realistically fill that opening.
This opposition to American hegemony has led the United States down a path of projecting weakness on the international stage. Recent examples of American weakness include joining the JCPOA with Iran, permitting Russia to take Crimea, and allowing China to take Hong Kong while simultaneously placing the Uyghurs in concentration camps. Furthermore, in 2021, the Biden administration continued portraying American weakness by precipitously withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. The Biden administration abandoned thousands of American citizens and Afghan allies. To make matters worse, Biden left billions of dollars’ worth of United States military equipment and the entire nation of Afghanistan in the control of the Taliban. These actions signaled to our adversaries that the United States is willing to surrender its role as the dominant international power.
In stepping out of the world leadership role, the United States has abandoned nations to which we had made defense promises. This includes countries like Afghanistan and Ukraine. Similarly situated nations such as Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia should be fearful that we will abandon them as well. These nations have seen that the United States and the West broadly are unwilling to defend them. Ultimately, these nations will attempt to purchase or create nuclear weapons to protect themselves. More countries with nuclear weapons will, in turn, exponentially increase the chances of nuclear war.
Another concerning aspect of American hegemony ending is the alignment of our adversaries. Adversaries such as China, Russia, and the Taliban have sensed our weakness and began taking advantage of it. As the United States moves out of the global leadership role, our adversaries will attempt to fill it. Adversaries of the United States are aligning with each other, developing spheres of influence similar to the Cold War era. In one sphere, we see the West and its allies - historically strong yet, complacent and weak today. In another sphere, we see our adversaries, who are attempting to take down the West and Western values. This sphere includes China, Russia, Iran, Syria, and international terrorists.
What to Expect Going Forward
The Biden administration would argue that they have utilized deterrence to prevent further Russian invasions. However, President Biden's sanctions were implemented too late to deter Russia. Biden knew for months that Russia had planned on invading Ukraine. President Biden, along with the West, did nothing. The sanctions would have been more effective had Biden preemptively implemented them. It would have indicated to Russia that the United States would not tolerate the invasion of sovereign nations. A deterrence strategy only works if done before the invasion. Now that Russia has invaded, Biden has already shown our cards. Russia knows that the United States has strict, self-imposed limits on the assistance it will provide invaded countries such as Ukraine. Russia also sees that as long as they do not use nuclear weapons, the United States will only implement sanctions and send military equipment to invaded nations. Russia knows that we will not actively send troops to quash the invasion. Biden's weak foreign policy removed the element of the unknown, telling Putin precisely what the United States is and is not willing to do in defense of Ukraine and other invaded nations. Since Putin knows our limits, there is no reason for him to stop with Ukraine. He could realistically invade many other countries with limited involvement by the United States. Russia will merely endure some economic hardship, which Putin will happily accept if it means remaking the former Soviet Union.
The combination of America's lack of interest in being the primary world power, and the lack of effective deterrence, created the perfect environment for Putin to invade Ukraine and other nearby nations. For Putin, it was a low-risk, high-reward calculation.
Russian aggression in Ukraine is directly attributable to the Biden administration's weak foreign policy. The only way to avoid reviving the Cold War era is to have a strong president and Congress, eager to re-establish the United States as the world's primary power. Until then, Cold War-era spheres of influence and threats of nuclear war will continue to increase in prevalence.
Garrett Gillespie graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science.
The Gillespie Report is a weekly news and conservative commentary column written by Garrett Gillespie. Subscribe to receive the newest edition each week for free.