The Role of Hegemonic Stability in International Relations

This essay delves into the Hegemonic Stability Theory, examining the role of a dominant state (hegemon) in maintaining international stability. It explores the historical context, tracing the influence of empires like Rome and Great Britain, and discusses the theory's division into Realist and Systemic Schools of thought. The essay outlines the attributes of a hegemon, including military superiority, a stable economy, and global influence, using examples like the USA. It also addresses the theory's disadvantages, such as potential for conflict and the uneven distribution of benefits. The analysis includes discussions on the Power Transition Theory, the World Systems Theory, and the impact of cultural dominance. The paper concludes by emphasizing the role of a hegemon in global development and stability, making it a valuable resource for understanding international relations and political science.

HEGEMONIC STABILITY 1
The Impact of Hegemonic Stability in International Peace
Name of institution
Student’s name
Supervisor;

HEGEMONIC STABILITY 2
Hegemonic Stability
World peace is the central determinant of the nature of the existence of humankind; many
scholars have narrowed down some theories that depict how power is balanced to attain world
cohesion. Great minds like Thomas J. McCormick, George Modelski and many others have tried
to narrow down the idea of Hegemonic stability theory, this theory combines theoretical reviews
from an economic, historical and political perspective on matters about international relations.
The word hegemony simply means power over something. It is within this line of thought the
theory was made claiming that international system stability is more likely to be attained if one
state is recognized as the supreme state. In contrast, the absence of a world superpower leads to
chaos and instability
The hegemon, the superior state, is a powerful state that exercises its dominance in the
international stage by acting as a prevalence regulator. This theory says that world peace has
always been controlled by a hegemon which is dated back from ancient times. Empires like the
Roman Empire was a hegemon in its time. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Great British was
the preponderance state in the world and it is said that it's weakening in the early 20th century
may have caused the world instability that was caused by the world wars. From this angle, it is
safe to say that the hegemonic stability theory insinuates that the weakening of a then hegemon is
an indication of a period of world chaos.
Hegemonic Stability Theory is mainly divided into two; the Realist and the Systemic
Schools of Thought. As per Thomas J McCormick’s Systemic School of thought, a hegemon
derives its superiority from factors such as economic strength, technological innovations,
military muscle and also favorable geographical location. The Systemic school as expounded by
George Modelski’s Long Cycle Theory which describes the relationship between war cycles and

HEGEMONIC STABILITY 3
factors influencing global power. Modelski argued that it takes around 70-100 years for
switching of power from one hegemon to another. The World Systems Theory by the sociologist
Immanuel Wallerstein also expounds on the Systemic School. Wallerstein argued of inequality in
the social structure on an international level as some countries prospered and the rest were
exploited. The theory divides the world into core, semi-periphery and periphery nations. Core
countries are those viewed as nations with strong and wealthy economies, strong militaries and
also politically powerful. Semi-periphery nations are less developed and not much forthcoming
in global trade. Periphery nations are the least developed economically and have high illiteracy
rates thus provide cheap labor to core nations. This world system, separate from a world empire
or a socialist system, represents the structure in which almost every country is integrated today.
It is characterized by a capitalist world-economy including a single division of labor but multiple
policies and cultures (Mossmann 2007).
The Realist School of thought disagrees with the existence of a global system that creates
and implements international law. This is because human nature is viewed as too egocentric and
conflictual to create equal international laws. The Power Transition Theory by Organski explains
more on the Realist School. The theory, first developed in 1950, states that an equal distribution
of power and military strength among nations internationally is most likely to lead to war and
conversely that an imbalanced international system assures peace between the developed and less
developed nations.
There are some specific attributes required of a nation to be considered as the hegemon,
especially in the modern evolving world. One major requirement is military superiority, this
1because the world leader should be able to maintain world peace. The active involvement of the
USA, which is considered the world hegemon, in the war against terrorism is a perfect example
1 Mossmann, pg.4

HEGEMONIC STABILITY 4
of military dominance. By providing military personnel in terror-stricken regions around the
world, the USA has been able to maintain stability in volatile regions like Afghanistan and Iraq.
Requirements of a Hegemon
Military dominance gives the world hegemon power to exercise controlled bullying
against states that may threaten world stability. The retaliatory move of the USA to use the
atomic bomb against Japan was one of the other events that cemented the military prevalence of
the USA. Leading to the end of world war two, the Hiroshima bombing showed that the USA
had the military capability to handle global outlaws. This shows that the hegemony of the USA
has been acting as the world’s guardian ever since.
Another attribute required is a stable and growing economy. A growing economy enables
a hegemon to provide economic guidance and development agenda across the world. Economic
prowess ensures the hegemon is in a prime condition to give a lending hand to struggling
economies across the world. Actions like an admission of migrants are some of the many
pointers to a hegemon. The stable economy can accommodate high intakes of migrants and also
attract the most interests for migration requests (Woolcock and Bayne 2017).
The world’s supreme leader should also have national power to be able to implement
policies and laws globally. The signing of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in which
the USA was part of the biggest supporter ensured that there was a regulated economic
environment across the world. The USA sanctioned countries like Japan into signing this
agreement to avert any future trade animosity. Through the creation of the United Nations,
policies ranging from humanitarian policies, environmental policies to social policies across the
world were given standards. The hegemonic strategic theory states bodies like these cannot come

HEGEMONIC STABILITY 5
into existence without having a driving force (hegemony state). This is because the hegemon sets
preferences on global institutions for the rest to follow.
The hegemon should also have the will to reign supreme and lead the world economically
and politically. This brings control to international trade and with evidence like the US dollar
being the most used currency across the globe stresses the dominance the USA has on the global
economy. International policies have changed with the introduction of nations’ sovereignty, but
this has not hindered the world-leading nations into meddling with their affairs. Through
sanctioned and unauthorized attacks, the USA has exercised its global powers by intervening in
political crisis across the world.
The rapid rate at which the world has developed since the 15th century proves that the
state of hegemony assures a period of stability both economically and socially across the world.
Hegemony has ensured the enlightenment of the world through a way of emulation that is forced
across the globe. The British kingdom oversaw introduction to the industrial revolution across
many parts of the world. Its fall from the world hegemon saw the United States take charge. The
USA has engineered the technological revolution which has seen the world transform into the
modern more connected world. China is now the leading nation in technology and some are
predicting that it is headed to being the next world hegemony.
Disadvantages of Hegemons on Global Stability
The Hegemonic Stability Theory (HST) has some derailments as some view it not to have
led to the development and peace it mostly assures. Some negative impacts of hegemony
application include; the vast political and structural superiority shown by hegemons which can

HEGEMONIC STABILITY 6
be used as a tool to end civilization as we know it. This is evident in the strained international
relations in the 20th century that led to both World War 1 (1914-1919) and World War 2 (1938-
1945) that led to a death toll of an estimated 20 million people. This stresses that the presence of
a world Superpower does not normally ensure international peace and prosperity. World wars
occur mostly during the end of long cycles as power is transitioning from one global superpower
to another. This is because not all nations feel the efficiency of a hegemonic system.
The second loophole is a need for clarity between Gilpin’s model of centralized coercive
leadership and Keohane’s decentralized benevolent model of leadership. The coercive model
states a form of leadership where a hegemon leads by bullying and demeaning follower nations
by requiring fast compliance with demands. A relevant example is the USA’s economic
sanctions on Cuba in the 1960s, for engaging in trade with the Soviet Union, to destabilize
Castro’s government. The benevolent leadership model states that the world Superpower should
lead by generating opportunities that benefit not only themselves but the world at large. This
leads to economic stability thus creating a sustainable future for future generations. A relevant
example is the aiding of military resources by the USA to African and Asian nations in the fight
against terrorism to help maintain peace.
Another negative impact of hegemony is the negative spread of Western culture globally.
An example is the USA imposing sanctions on nations that do not support capitalism and
homosexuality. This leads to the acceptance of western cultures by poor nations to get relief aid.
The spread of western cultures leads to unethical behaviour and poor levels of socialism among
people. This stresses that some nations do not concur with the current hegemony system.
Furthermore, another negative impact of hegemony is the fact that hegemony has not
benefitted all nations globally as expected. This is evident in the massive disparity among the

HEGEMONIC STABILITY 7
massive wealth and economic stability in American and European nations compared to the
alarming poverty levels in African and Asian states. This leads to the question if the hegemonic
stability theory leads to the economic stability of the world generally, which is its core objective.
Some argue that the current political global system is meant to favour global superpowers and
derail the development of poorer nations.
Since the hegemonic stability theory is heavily reliant on the economic openness of
nations globally, the trade deficits of nations tend to derail it. For example; differing interest and
tax rates, differing labour costs and also border restrictions by some nations. This leads to
differing levels of economic wealth distribution between nations. This proves it can be argued
that hegemony does not promote global stability. Old political structural systems required
collective participation and the world used to run smoothly without much war cycles.
There is also a disagreement on the view that the world cannot work together without a
supreme leader. Some argue that if all world political leaders can work together without the need
for a global leader, the world could experience a period of rapid economic and political growth
globally. This is because all the views and demands of each nation can be taken into account
without the favor of certain nations. Many argue that some international issues are not being well
addressed e.g. global warming, hunger and poverty levels due to uneven power distribution.
Thus, collective teamwork by all nations is deemed a requirement to address these matters.

HEGEMONIC STABILITY 8
Conclusion
I think the presence of a hegemon has proven successful in creating stability in a world
that contains many leadership variabilities. Diversity of the whole world with a difference in
personal and social values of the leaders creating ideologies that may contradict one another is
always a challenge that needs addressing, but the presence of a hegemon assures stability.
Hegemony ensures a common administrator who is considered the watchdog for events around
the globe in a social, political and cultural view.
I believe the incredible developments and advancements of mankind since the
development of a global hegemon is credible on the huge part hegemonies play in development
and stability. Hegemons are the leaders who can penetrate any system in the globe and tend to
offer most support on humanitarian levels to all nations, thus proving to be a very crucial
embodiment of modern civilization.
Relevance of the study
This study can be used to identify the loopholes around the hegemonic stability theory to
strengthen those areas, such as how the weakening of the then global hegemons led to the world
wars. A relevant example is the weakening of Great Britain leading to the occurrence of World
War 1. This can aid in averting future World Wars by studying the specific patterns that led to
such chaotic global moments and generating methodologies to prevent reoccurrence of such
events.

HEGEMONIC STABILITY 9
References
Mossmann, Jannis. 2007. Modern world system theory. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH.
Woolcock, Stephen, and Nicholas Bayne. 2017. "The New Economic Diplomacy: Decision Making and
Negotiation in International Economic Relations." In Theoretical Analysis of Economic Diplomacy,
by Stephen Woolcock, 22. London: Routledge.