Hegemony

Hegemonic Stability

The theory of hegemonic stability (developed in the 1970s by Charles Kindleberger and subsequently subscribed to by many neorealist authors) argues that the interstate system will be relatively peaceful and stable if there is a hegemonic state that provides certain public goods to the system (most basically prosperity and security). A state will be a hegemon if it has both the capability and the will to perform this function. The capability of a state depends on the (relative) size and level of development of its economy, its ability to dominate certain key technological sectors, and its political and military power. During much of the 19th century, Great Britain dominated the world economically, politically, and militarily. Through its role as a stabilizer in the European balance of power and through its management of the gold standard, it was able to secure a measure of stability in interstate relations, which was beneficial to the growth of a liberal world economy. Similarly, after 1945 the United States became the hegemon: It emerged out of the war as by far the strongest military and economic power, and it used its power to create the institutional framework (the Bretton Woods system), which facilitated the unprecedented expansion of the world economy in the following decades.

When the Bretton Woods system collapsed in the early 1970s and the hegemony of the United States weakened, hegemonic stability theory predicted the erosion of the liberal regime established by the hegemon as well. However, no such development took place. This gave rise to an alternative interpretation. In his After Hegemony (1984), Robert Keohane argued that collaboration between states needs to be based not only on the exercise of hegemony but also on the recognition by states that voluntary cooperation can be beneficial to them. Crucial to this approach is the concept of complex interdependence, which explains why states engage in cooperation through the creation and reproduction of international regimes.

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