- “Comments on Paul Kennedy’s The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers,” British Journal of Sociology 40:2 (1989).
- Mark Beeson, “Hegemonic transition in East Asia? The Dynamics of Chinese and American Power,” Review of International Studies 35:1 (2009)
Group Blog for Prof. Shirk's International Studies: History, Theory, and Practice Class, May 2018
week 15 post class
I found this Modules readings very interesting. What leads to a great power rising or falling? There were many great theories proposed in the “Comments on Paul Kennedy’s The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers,” usually they concern over extending an empire. We analyzed the balance of power in our class discussions on america's greatest threats. We spent time analyzing the hard numbers and debated military might and transitions based on economic power and technological advancements. I think it is easy to analyze compare and try to crunch numbers but I think they miss something essential. We don't know how to truly define the tipping point. There is no equation that says at GDP - National debt + foreign wars X 15% equates to a failure or fundamental shift in a nation's power. There is no numbers that can show why the enlightenment was so successful, there is no way to predict the genius of Galileo. There is a very strong intangible in all of history. The human will or spirit does play a powerful role in shaping the strength of a nation. I think when we simply analyze the hard data we miss powerful forces that can help us explain this shift. Carl Jung theorized the collective unconcious to define undercurrents that shape humanity and create a shared backbone. I think when we discussed symbolic technologies in module we found a way in which these ideas weave their way into cultural influence and evolve. These forces are the true tipping factor. if we look at the fall of Rome it was surely over expanded but it was also corrupt. It was a Nation over indulgent in sport and hell bent on lavish parties and under educating it's citizens. The national spirit had erroded and no one was capable of saving it. There were certainly points where the people in power could have stepped aside or decided to invest in their country but they were more concerned with wealth. The true maker of breaker of a nation is the moral will of the people.
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We've come a long way in this course. I am glad that Hobbes was the foundation on which we built our learning as it provided a good refe...
I agree with the argument to a point. The moral will of the people is indeed an important factor in the of decline of a nation. But would you not argue that such a will would have more to do with the rate of decline of a country as opposed to being the primary means?
ReplyDeleteMy only contention is that if a strong moral will were maintained in a hegemonic state, that state would still be susceptible to outside attack or power shifts that it simply cannot affect or change. Whether the United States could have the strongest moral will on the planet, but eventually outside factors like GWOT, a rising China, a restive Russia, and strained relations with allies would truly bring down the hegemon.
I think that moral will is certainly a powerful and driving factor in the decline of great powers and, in our case, the hegemon. I do not, however, see it as the catalyst that unseats such a power.