An Investigation of Decline and Reconstruction Dialectic of American Hegemony

Hegemony has been the most important concept to American power in the international system since the end of the Cold War. Pro-decline approach who criticize continuity hegemonic power of the United States in world politics, are emphasizing on issues such as the weakening of US hegemonic components, the logic of the rise and fall of great powers, and other fundamental domestic economic and social problems. They believe that the world is now going through a period of superpower decline and we must speak of a post-hegemonic era. On the other hand, the proponents of reconstruction approach, relying on the stark difference between US economic, military and technological power with other major powers, US special capacity to restore its power and experiencing diverse cycles of decline and reconstruction in the history of US hegemony, believe the current situation reveals the continuity of the American age in the international system. The article attempts to examine the arguments of decline and reconstruction approaches and perspective of American era, focusing on the question of what is the influence of weakening US hard and soft power on the prospect of decline or revival of the components of US power. The hypothesis of this research, which has been tested descriptively-analytically, shows that despite the experience of cycles of decline and reconstruction in the history of American hegemony in the international system and the views of thinkers such as Huntington, the United States has no ability to rebuild its hegemony and has entered an irreversible decline.