The new world [dis] order in the complexity of multi‐polarity: United States of America's hegemonic decline and the configuration of new power patterns

• Published date: 01 February 2021
• Author: Makhura Benjamin Rapanyane
• Date: 01 February 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2114

ACADEMIC PAPER

The new world [dis] order in the complexity of multi-polarity:

United States of America's hegemonic decline and the

configuration of new power patterns

Makhura Benjamin Rapanyane

School of Social Sciences, University of

Limpopo, Polokwane, South Africa

Correspondence

Makhura Benjamin Rapanyane, School of

Social Sciences, University of Limpopo,

South Africa.

Email: Makhurabenjamin2@gmail.com

[Correction added on 04 May 2020, after first

online publication: The author's name was

incorrectly rendered in the original version of

the article. This version corrects the error.]

History tells us that the United States of America (US)'s hegemonic predomination

materialized from a very long-ideological battle and/ Cold War, sometimes referred

to as the war of words lasted for about five decades from the mid-1940s to 1989,

and consequently stopped after the fragmentation of the Soviet Union Empire. Thus,

in contemporary times, it is lamentably regrettable that USA has come to face oligop-

olistic challenge in the context of both political and economic dominion. The interna-

tional system is slowly but surely experiencing the emergence of brand new political

and economic power patterns vis-à-vis China, European Union (EU) and Brazil,

Russian, India, China, South Africa (BRICS). In light of the aforementioned, this article

assesses the symptoms of US hegemonic decline and how this helps shape the cur-

rent global academic and/ scholarly debates on the strategic environment. Equally

important is the adoption and application of Afrocentricity as the theoretical frame-

work in the quest for ”relocation from the knowledge production margins”and the

spirit of the anticipation of the DE-colonial Political contemplation in South Africa's

life-time. As a theory, it is employed to answer the central question: Is it a reality or a

myth that USA's dominion over the international system is coming to an end? Meth-

odologically, this article relied on interdisciplinary discourse analysis and thematic

content prevailing documents.

1|INTRODUCTION

This article as advised by the basic elements of Afrocentricity (to be

outlined in the next section) assesses the US Hegemonic decline in

the period after the Cold War era. The central thread in this article is

to analyze the fundamental challenges to the US global hegemony

and also to explain the symptoms of this hegemonic decline to show

well that US hegemony is coming to an end. In this article, the word,

hegemony is used interchangeably with predomination and dominion

to explain the entire context of this article. Equally important is the

unpacking of the synopsis of the cold war and/ ideological conflict

which resulted in the USA becoming the global hegemon after the

breakup of the Soviet Union Empire in 1989. Thus, the problem state-

ment denoted by this article is that, the USA has been experiencing

fundamental internal and external challenges to its global hegemony.

Hence, making it clear that its economic and political dominion is at

risk, even though it is quite difficult for the USA to come to terms

with it. Therefore, this article comes at a significant time in history

where China, EU and BRICS are going through significant political and

economic developments in the sense that their increasing economic

power is undeniable, as they continuously attract Foreign Direct

Investment (FDI) from the international system. Further, they have at

once shown their strength in the Doha Round by demanding new

leadership in both the World Bank and the International Monetary

Fund. In the future, such instances will be frequent, particularly when

it relates to international agreements to counter US hegemony in the

world. The interlinkage that is found in the presumed US hegemonic

decline is centrally found in the BRICS countries having increased eco-

nomic strength and leverage to communicate their desires and needs

in the international arena.

Received: 8 September 2019 Revised: 7 January 2020 Accepted: 8 March 2020

DOI: 10.1002/pa.2114

J Public Affairs. 2021;21:e2114. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 1of7

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2114