FROM 1991 TO NOWADAYS, HOW TO REMAIN THE WORLD'S FIRST SUPERPOWER AND HOW TO ASSUME IT ?
1. The establishment of a new world order
The United States emerge victorious from the cold war. The disappearance of the Soviet Union lifts the United States to the rank of the only superpower at the beginning of the 1990s. The Gulf War (1990-91) allows them to show their tactical and strategic superiority, while underlining their commitment to multilateralism within the framework of the United Nations. . President G.H Bush then considered that their economic and political values have triumphed and that a "new world order" is beginning.
The United States continued to participate in the spread of economic liberalism: NAFTA (1994), the Asia Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) in 1993.
2. From multilateralism to unilateralism
Democratic President Bill Clinton promoted an enlargement policy. The American power must serve to "enlarge" democracy in the world. Clinton promoted multilateralism and engaged in an active policy of nuclear disarmament.
However, US policy remained one-sided when it came to defend its interests. The Republican Senate returned to the isolationist tradition when it refused to ratify the Kyoto Accord on the emission of greenhouse gases (1997) or to join the international criminal court.
Republican President G. W. Bush and his administration supported the military expression of US hegemony. The attacks of 11 September 2001 confirmed their Manichean conception of the world in which their country must play the role of policeman defender of democracy and its own interests. The US Army invades Afghanistan in October 2001, with UN approval.
G.W bush denounces an "axis of evil" that threatens the world with the dual threat of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Defending the idea of "preventive war", he decided to destroy the regime of Saddam Hussein and thus causes the division of American and world public opinion. Without United Nations support, the United States and its allies invaded Iraq in 2003.
3. Obama or the return of multilateralism?
Democrat President Barack Obama; elected in November 2008, inherited a difficult situation. The United States is competing and challenged in their global leadership. The stabilization of Iraq has failed and the maintenance of the army is very expensive. He decided the total withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in 2011.
Obama disengaged the United States while focusing on multilateralism. It tried to enhance the image of the United States in the world and strengthened ties with European allies. To do this, he multiplied meetings, including the highly noticed one in Cairo in June 2009. Military interventions are now in the framework of alliances (Libya 2011)
However, the American power met new limits. China has become a serious competitor in all areas. The United States relies on high technology to guarantee their advance (drones ...).