beginning of second generation of academic and political discussions that
took September 11 as the new milestone in explaining international relations
in general and American foreign policy in particular. Unlike the optimistic
views of the first generation of work, the second generation drew a rather
pessimistic picture in which the unrestrained power of the United States
would ultimately lead to increasing unilateralism on the part of the United
States. In the words of John Ikenberry “actions are afoot to dramatically
alter the political order that the United States has built with its partners
since the 1940s.”5
“America’s nascent neoimperial strategy” he continues
“threatens to rend the fabric of the international community and political
partnerships precisely at a time when that community and those
partnerships are urgently needed.”6
The Bush Doctrine and the ensuing
interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq demonstrated that the US would not
hesitate to use its colossal power unilaterally whenever its vital interests
were threatened. These wars have, in turn, intensified the debate about the
nature and prospects of American power.7
The Iraqi invasion led many to
argue that the US had gone beyond being a hegemon and now is building an
“empire”. Even though the word “empire” was often used pejoratively by the
critics of US foreign policy in the past, it seems that it has attracted a wide
range of supporters in the academic and political circles in the United
States8
. Especially in the aftermath of the 9/11 many in the US started to
openly talk about the case for the American Empire. A senior official in the
Bush Administration, for example, argued in 2002 that the US “is an empire
now”…and “the Bush Doctrine is indeed an imperial program, one that must
be placed on the ideological terrain of universal empire.”9
The discussion whether the United States is a hegemon or an Empire
is beyond the scope of this paper. Instead, it is more interested in the
consequences of American power and its limits in the Middle East and looks
at the issue from a more theoretical perspective-mainly from the perspective
of hegemonic stability theory- and argues that the existence of only one
superpower, call it a hegemon or an empire, does not guarantee security and
stability. Furthermore, as is the case for American involvement in the Middle
East, it can be the source of insecurity and instability. Thus, the theory of
hegemonic stability that looks at the issue from structural material power
remains inadequate in the face of the current instability in the Middle East.
This paper aims at addressing to this inadequacy of hegemonic stability
theory and argues that the existence of one superpower does not ensure
stability in the international system.