Are We Living in a Unipolar World - Coursework Example

ARE WE LIVING IN A UNIPOLAR WORLD? By Location The world has evolved due to the events of World War I & II and the cold war. In 1979, Kenneth Waltz, a renowned American political scientist, documented in his hypothesis that the world the stability of the world was more guaranteed if few great powers governed. After the fall of the Berlin wall, there were a series of the cold war. The world moved from multipolar to bipolar and later unipolar. The cold war lasted for about 45 years. It took place between two main antagonists who were the Soviet Union and the United States. The two major antagonists had different ideologies which were communism and capitalism. As a result, of the difference in ideologists, each of the sides fought for international power. Each of the powers wanted their ideologies to dominate the world. Since, Kenneth Waltz presented his hypothesis much has changed. Thus, the essay critically discusses the position of the world today as unipolar. Before the events of World War II, the world was dominated by different powers such as China, Japan, United States and many other powers. In 1815 to 1945, the multipolar system increased rivalry in the world politics (Davis 2006, p. 45). Many of the states struggled for influence and power. The power system could not be controlled because every state wanted its ideologies presented. Thus, there arose antagonism as each of the states wanted to take control of all the affairs of the world. Each state felt that their styles of governance were the best and thus, wanted to spread them to the rest of the World(Westad 2007, p.63). Consequently, due to the continuous struggle, there was an increase in military action. There was the rise of the Napoleonic war that resulted in the rise of five major states. The Congress of Vienna concluded that there are five major states that dominated the world politics. They were Russia, Prussia, France, Austria-Hungary, and Great Britain (Pant 2013, p. 15). They shared the political powers for 40 years. However, each power felt that it was not being given enough power. Thus, the system proved to be inappropriate during the events of the Crimean War (1853-1856). During the Crimea War France and Britain, joined forces to counter Russia (Castro 2003, p. 25). The events of World War I portrayed clearly showed the position of the five states. When Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, the war began. The small conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia spread to the states such and Germany, Russia, France and Great Britain (Johnson &Parta 2010, p. 14). The war spread rapidly to the other states because they had signed treaties which obligated them to defend the nations. There was development of Western and Eastern fronts along the borders of Austria-Hungary and Germany. In the West, Germany attacked Belgium and later France. In the East, Russia attacked Austria-Hungary and Germany. Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia in the south. After the First and Second World War, there was the emergence of two main superpowers, which were the Soviet Union and United States (Kapstein 2009, p. 17). They both had different ideologies and wanted the other parts of the world to adopt the systems. The two superpowers wanted to dominate the world, especially in specific areas such as commerce, politics and culture. As a result, there was the emergence of the cold war. Most of the historians consider the cold war period as the most peaceful period in history. They have considered this by taking into account the absence of the physical wars. However, the cold war period, was almost the same as the period during the major wars because many lives were lost. During the cold war, the two superpowers continually antagonized each other through economic aid, propaganda, military coalitions, political maneuvering, and espionage. The two superpowers fought for territorial boundaries and power control in different parts of the world such as Asia and Africa. The two superpowers wanted to influence the anti-colonial movements. The United States and USSR helped the other nations which were fighting during the war so that they could gain recognition and have power and political control in all the states. That is why in 1949, the in the Chinese war, the Soviet Union joined the war as Cold War adversary(Calleo 2009, p.24). In 1950, during the North and South Korea fights the United States sent military aids and troops in those areas. Ideally, the cold war period was a struggle between the Eastern and the Western blocs. There was confrontation between the two states but, it was not direct. The reactions between the two superpowers clearly showed the bipolar balance of power. During the cold war, the two superpowers supported different sides which intensified the conflicts between the two states. Asia and Africa were the battlefields for the rivalry between the Eastern and Western blocs. As a result, the total number of the conflicts during the cold war period was about 115(Mcallister 2002, p.62). However, the bipolar system did not last for long after the events of the cold war. Finally, the cold war came to an end when the Soviet economy stagnated because of their stagnation in participation of the arms race. There was also a decline in oil prices in the 1980s, which made the Soviet Union powerless. Additionally, the attempt of the communists to introduce the market economy failed. Thus, the world undermined the power of the communists’ party. In 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall was witnessed by the entire world. In addition, the Warsaw Pact was dissolved, while during the same period, that is in 1991, The Soviet leader Mikhali Gorbachev quit the world politics (Brands 2012, p. 52). Thus, the resignation of the Soviet leader marked the end of the bipolar era, and the United States became the superpower. Consequently, the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, lead to the emergence of the unipolar system. One power which was the United States dominated the world up-to-date. The end of the cold war made that there was no longer any traditional West versus East conflict. In the political system, the Soviet Union did not have a say. The United States became the sole power in dominating World politics and most of the crucial aspects of the world. United States did not have real challenges in their hegemonic position. Thus, the new situation in the world is unipolar because no state that challenges United States (Hopf 2002, p. 5). Subsequently, the United States keeps its power by keeping the 100,000 troops who are stationed in Europe and Asia. They have also guaranteed their allies the security that they need. Thus, they control most of the systems of their allies. They also give the need for security in the other states. States do not need to participate in arms race for them to acquire the security that they need. The supply of weapons to other states has limited USA’s economic growth. Thus, in the long run, USA’s power might decline (Barrington 2012, p. 32). However, there are different reasons as to why the United States of America remains the most powerful states. One of the reasons is its geographical advantageous location compared to the other countries. The other power, such as China, Japan, Russia, and India, which could challenge United States are not advantaged in terms of location. They are in less favourable strategic locations, and they are amidst of more multipolar regions. Thus, United States of America will remain the unipolar country. The availability of different resources and the modes of transport make the country one of the most powerful country all over the world. They also automate most of their systems, and their communication system is more effective than any other part of the world. Most of the forms of development began in the United States of America (Chen 2001, p. 21). They have also upgraded their security systems, and they have enhanced the way in which the people in the army communicate. In conclusion, we are living in a unipolar world as discussed in the essay. The world moved from multipolar to bipolar than to the present unipolar. The bipolar system was less stable than the unipolar system because it resulted in the emergence of the cold war. The United States and Soviet Union of America struggled for powers leading to the emergence of the cold war. The Unipolar system has led to major changes in the world’s politics. As a result, of the terrorists’ activities, it is argued that the world needs to become militarily multipolar. However, the United States continue to dominate the world. Bibliography Barrington L. W. 2012,Comparative politics: structures and choices. Brands H. 2012, Latin Americas Cold War. Cambridge, Mass, Harvard University Press. Calleo D. P. 2009, Follies of power: Americas unipolar fantasy. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Castro F. 2003,Cold war: warnings for a unipolar world. Melbourne [u.a.], Ocean Press.http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/description/cons041/2003107190.html. Chen J. (2001). Maos China and the Cold War.Chapel Hill [u.a.], Univ. of North Carolina Press. Davis J. 2006, Presidential policies and the road to the second Iraq war from Forty One to Forty Three. Aldershot, England, Ashgate Pub. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10211500. Hopf T. 2002,Social construction of international politics: identities & foreign policies, Moscow, 1955 and 1999. Ithaca [u.a.], Cornell Univ. Press. Johnson A. R. &Parta R. E. 2010,Cold war broadcasting: impact on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe : a collection of studies and documents. Budapest, Central European University Press. Kapstein E. B. 2009,Unipolar politics: realism and state strategies after the Cold War. New York, Columbia Univ. Press. Kapstein, E. B. 2009, Unipolar politics: realism and state strategies after the Cold War. New York, Columbia Univ. Press. Mcallister J. 2002, No exit: America and the German problem, 1943-1954. Ithaca, NY [u.a.], Cornell Univ. Press. Pant H. V. 2013,Indian foreign policy in a unipolar world. New Delhi, Routledge. Singh J. N. P. 2006,Redefining roles of non-aligned movement in unipolar world. Delhi, India, Academic Excellence. Westad O. A. 2007, The global Cold War: third world interventions and the making of our times. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Read More