'Some People' Hope 9/11 Triggered America's Decline

Because of America's trampling on the sovereignty of Iraq (and China) and its disrespect for international institutions, according to this op-ed article from the State-controlled China Daily, a new theory of 'U.S.-decline' has taken hold in the minds of 'some people.' There is no word on who these 'people' might be, only that they 'have their reasons.'

By Shen Dingli, Deputy Director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, Shanghai

December 27, 2005

Original Article (English)

In some Western media, there has emerged recently a theory of "U.S.-decline." Some people, disgusted with the hegemony exercised by the United States in international affairs, saw the September 11 terrorist attacks as the onset of America's decline and hoped for an acceleration of that decline.

They have their reasons.

People see that the United States randomly sent troops to overthrow the government of the sovereign nation of Iraq. No matter what Saddam Hussein did, his regime did not pose a direct threat to the United States in 2003. Nonetheless, the U.S. army carried out a pre-emptive attack without United Nations authorization.

People see that the current American Government places itself above the United Nations, even though it was midwife at the birth of the international body. Washington is dragging its feet over paying the U.N. dues it has been assessed to contribute, and even threatens to cut its share to alter the U.N.'s political agenda in its favor.

People see that time and again, the United States interferes with the sovereignty  of other countries. For example, on the one hand it recognizes that Taiwan is an integral part of China but, on the other, it adopts a policy of selling arms to Taiwan.

People see that the United States is has a policy of double standards or even multiple standards.

Domestically, the United States operates on the basis of a representative, democratic system, saying that this system constitutes the cornerstone of America as a country. But on every important international political issue, it demands the final word, denying democracy to other countries. People see that the United States pursues as many international rights as possible, but tries as far as it can to avoid international obligations.

If the United States of yesteryear was wise enough to offer the European nations plans for revival after World War II, today's U.S. Government seems to have forgotten the meaning of the word "obligation."

The Clinton Administration, for example, signed the treaty to ban nuclear weapons testing, but the Bush government shelved it. The Clinton Administration signed the Kyoto Protocols, but the Bush government refused to accept it.

All of this undermines America's global influence, and it is against this backdrop that the "U.S.-decline" theory has emerged.

However, people have no choice but to admit that indeed, the United States has made contributions to the international community. Its involvement in World War II is the best example.

Without the United States, the Nazi grip over Western Europe might have lasted much longer. The United States also played an important role in returning Taiwan to Chinese sovereignty from Japanese colonial rule. It helped bring an end to the German Nazis, Italian fascists and Japanese militarists.

American GIs did not die for nothing. The international prestige of the United States' was boosted tremendously and its "hard power" and "soft power" grew significantly in the aftermath of World War II.

Without the United States, there might be no United Nations, which was the brainchild of President Franklin Roosevelt.

America's institutional innovation is its gift to the world, conceiving of new international bodies for changing times. When such institutions stabilize the world, they are clearly as in the interests of the international community. The U.N., among others, is one such institution, and one which other major countries, including China, helped establish.

The United States also played a role promoting nuclear non-proliferation. Otherwise, there would be more countries and regions in the world equipped with nuclear "teeth." In the face of overwhelming U.S. influence, one after the other Brazil, Argentina, the Republic of Korea and China's Taiwan gave up their nuclear ambitions.

In recent years, signs of the erosion of America's "soft power" have been obvious to all. According to influential U.S. Congressmen, in the history of the United States of America, Washington's diplomatic errors have never been so grave.

If this situation is not addressed, Washington will lose moral support from other countries and will become more isolated.

Confronted with this, the Bush Administration has made a number of policy adjustments. For example, rather than raising the pressure, negotiations were chosen to handle the nuclear ambitions of Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea [North Korea].

This shows that the White House has realized the seriousness of the decline in America's "soft power," and has taken steps to tackle the problem. Changes in U.S. public opinion have also taken place, which do not favor the Bush government's past practices. Given these recent changes, the momentum of America's decline will not last.

Although America's share of the world economy has dropped compared to the period after World War II, the U.S. economy still accounts for a quarter of the global economy's  total volume, and its military expenditures are larger than that of China, Japan, India and Russia combined.

It is beyond question that the United States will continue to use the U.N. for its own purposes, al the while showing a lack of respect for the global body. This is because it pays for Washington to use the favorable aspects of existing global organizations.

We refuse to accept U.S. hegemony, but we welcome institutions that benefit the public and have been supported by the United States.

A realistic goal for the international community would be rational co-existence with a United States, as long as Washington is better balanced by other global forces, is more willing to cooperate with other nations and takes more responsibility for its actions.

The author is deputy director of the Centre for America Studies of Fudan University in Shanghai. This article first appeared in the Global Times newspaper.