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VOL. 8, ISSUE 1 (2026)
The erosion of Pax Americana: Rethinking the multi-dimensional decadence of U.S. hegemony in the 21st century
Authors
Srishti Negi
Abstract
The idea of Pax Americana has always been used
to characterize the world politics, military and economic dominance of the
United States after the Second World War. However, the recent 21st century has
seen more academic discourse on the undermining of this edifice of hegemony.
This research paper discusses the multi-level deterioration of the U.S.
hegemony in terms of its structure, economy, geopolitics, technology, and
domestic factors. Based on the hegemonic stability theory, power transition
theory, and world-systems analysis, the paper contends that the U.S. hegemony,
which has been cemented since the Cold War and is represented by the presence
of such institutions as NATO, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank, is
slowly but increasingly eroding instead of collapsing. Economically, the
relative fall in the U.S. share of global GDP, emergence of China and the
threats to dollar centrality are indicators of a shift in world production and
financial influence. In military terms, asymmetric warfare, overstretch, and
strategic aggressiveness of actors, like Russia, make the conventional
deterrence models difficult. At the institutional and political level, the
polarizing tendencies within the United States and the falling rates of
confidence in liberal internationalism are elements that erode its ability to
maintain leadership in the world arena. Systemic rivalry is further enhanced by
technology as technical competition in the semiconductor industry, artificial
intelligence, and digital infrastructure. Alternatively, other forms of
governance are normative challenges to the liberal-democratic paradigm, which
was the basis of post-1945 order. Instead of being an indicator of systemic
failure, these changes are an indication of shift towards a more fragmented and
multipolar world system. The paper concludes that U.S hegemony is not lost but
changing, from unipolar dominance to negotiation of leadership in an ordered
world of contention.
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Pages:108-112
How to cite this article:
Srishti Negi "The erosion of Pax Americana: Rethinking the multi-dimensional decadence of U.S. hegemony in the 21st century". International Journal of Social Science and Humanities, Vol 8, Issue 1, 2026, Pages 108-112
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