Consent and United States hegemony: An empirical analysis

Rashida Hussain, Purdue University

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to explore the status of U.S. hegemony from the vantage point of consent. Empirical studies of U.S. hegemony have essentially focussed on the material aspects of hegemony, even though several scholars have conceptualized hegemony in terms of both coercion and consent--"might" and "right". This study of consent complements the analyses of the material aspects of U.S. hegemony. It investigated consent for U.S. policies by exploring the congruity in the values, policies and preferences of the U.S. and other countries by examining the negotiations in the two areas that have emerged to be very significant since the 1960s--a period identified with the onset of economic decline of the U.S.: commodity trade in the context of the NIEO and biodiversity in the area of the environment. A secondary issue investigated by this study was the extent of U.S. control over outcomes in these areas. Findings revealed that the material decline of the U.S. was paralleled by a decline in consent for the U.S. definition of international reality in these two issue areas. It was found that the U.S. policy preferences were not considered universalistic, to the contrary, they were considered to be particularistic. Not only the Third World, but even several allies of the U.S. defined their policy preferences (subjective interests) at variance with the U.S. preferences, and the U.S. backed norms were called into question. This study found, however, that despite the erosion of consent, the U.S. was nevertheless able to exercise at least a de facto control over the final outcomes. Findings demonstrate that whatever power the U.S. wielded was not because it enjoyed the consent of the other states but was largely economic or coercive. Such an exercise of power is more appropriately described as "domination" rather than "hegemony." At a time when the U.S. needs consent for its policies more than ever because of its economic decline, this study found, that consent is proving to be all the more elusive.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Stahl, Purdue University.

Subject Area

International law|International relations|Political science|Environmental science

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