Undermining American Hegemony : Goods Substitution in World Politics

Study of the decline of the American-led international liberal order is gaining momentum, reacting to China's rise, the Trump presidency, Brexit, and an assertive Russia. Stressing the provision of global public and private goods, this volume will appeal to anyone interested in the future of US power and world politics.

Advancing a new approach to the study of international order, this book highlights the stakes disguised by traditional theoretical languages of power transitions and hegemonic wars. Rather than direct challenges to US military power, the most consequential undermining of hegemony is routine, bottom-up processes of international goods substitution: a slow hollowing out of the existing order through competition to seek or offer alternative sources for economic, military, or social goods. Studying how actors gain access to alternative suppliers of these public goods, this volume shows how states consequently move away from the liberal international order. Examining unfamiliar – but crucial – cases, it takes the reader on a journey from local Faroese politics, to Russian election observers in Central Asia, to South American drug lords. Broadening the debate about the role of public goods in international politics, this book offers a new perspective of one of the key issues of our time.