AMERICA’S JURASSIC HEGEMONISM: WILL IT DECLINE SOON?

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Magandang araw! Good day!

The current century had opened up the landscapes to emerging realities worldwide, realities that include the multi-polar power structure. Superpower politics has become anathema to the emerging world order, and so let’s do some additional reflections on how the Jurassic policy architectures in America (re-asserting global police role as the only superpower) will continue to be re-defined till it blends with the new context altogether.

The paradox that we experienced at the turn of the century was that, as the new multi-polar power structure was already taking shape, the fascistic neo-conservatives took to the fore in America, calcified a hawkish policy of pre-emptive strike doctrine, and unilaterally declared America as the global police force charged to engage nations that have served as base for Islamic jihadist movements.

A ‘coalition of the willing’ was super-imposed on the global politico-military terrain, practically undercutting the powers of the United Nations to role-play a global police force. The hubris and arrogance that went with neo-cons militarism eventually saw the rapid isolation of the USA from the world community, an isolation that was reversed only with the advent of Obama and the return of Wilsonian foreign policy doctrine there.

The reinforcing question that crops up now is: to what extent can the diverse doctrinal groups in the USA ever come to terms with the emerging world context if ever? With the neo-cons now on the retreat, will there be a full return of the Brevzinski-Kissinger faction that has a more sinister future agenda for the USA to engage world powers notably Russia and China?

The millennium ushered a new reality in Latin America, as a shift towards Pink politics happened. Thereto, anti-US rhetoric scaled up to crescendo levels over the last two (2) decades, a phenomenon that practically saw the demise of the Monroe Doctrine.

Given such a situation, America must engage Latin America anew with a more cooperative stance than ever, renew ties with Cuba, and pay up for its old debts to the Latins incurred during America’s support of authoritarian regimes there. Failure to do so, the USA will be threatened with more drug intrusions and mafia operations south of its border, even as its intellectual-cultural hegemony of Latinos will drastically be ended by the latter (e.g. Latin dependence on the USA for development & peace consultants will be totally undercut).

With the new twist of events in Latin America, the USA is getting more focused in getting back the Brevzinski-Kissinger initiatives into place, revised to fit into the emerging reality of a China growing in power with a navy that has graduated to a ‘blue water’ navy altogether. That means China will be moving out its naval assets beyond the China Sea in the short-run, with top priority being the Indian Ocean that contains routes to very large trade traffics with East Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Jurassic forces are surely in command within the USA, same forces that have negotiated bilateral military treaties/agreements with countries all over. Some of those signatories are in the ASEAN region which the USA wants to affirm a subordinated role in its contesting for hegemony of the China Sea.

Let it be clarified that America’s economy is stagnating, and will most likely decline in the foreseeable future. Just exactly how it will sustain a militaristic hegemonism—in the absence of logistical base for such an undertaking—over the next decades remains a huge question mark.

The hawks of America are now a dying breed, yet the flawed and dangerous doctrines they cultivated in the foreign policy circles are still holding water. Hegemonism is in fact declining as a whole, as the necessity for economic, cultural, and political cooperation struts the global facade, thus altering foreign policy doctrines altogether.

A persistence of the antiquated doctrines would most likely transform the USA into a ‘praetorian state’, whose most definitive role is to initiate wars across diverse frontiers. The war efforts will be largely financed by the wealthiest oligarchic-financier interests who are well entrenched in the most powerful cities and regions of the planet, as America itself doesn’t possess the logistical resources to engage in combat operations.

The decline of Jurassic hegemonism in America just may not happen very soon. And for as long as such a hegemonism is present and wanting to foment conflicts the world over, America will be the subject of distrust and instantaneous isolations should it periodically resort to unilateralism to advance its war efforts.

[Philippines, 07 October 2010]

[See: IKONOKLAST: http://erleargonza.blogspot.com,
UNLADTAU: http://unladtau.wordpress.com,
COSMICBUHAY: http://cosmicbuhay.blogspot.com,
BRIGHTWORLD: http://erlefraynebrightworld.wordpress.com, ARTBLOG: http://erleargonza.wordpress.com,
ARGONZAPOEM: http://argonzapoem.blogspot.com]