Various perspectives on whether the US was or continues to be a hegemon have been presented since the end of the Cold War. The American political scientists John Mearsheimer and Joseph Nye have argued that the US is not a true hegemon because it has neither the financial nor the military resources to impose a proper, formal, global hegemony.[31] On the other hand, Anna Cornelia Beyer, in her book about counter-terrorism, argues that global governance is a product of American leadership and describes it as hegemonic governance.[32]
The French Socialist politician Hubert Védrine in 1999 described the US as a hegemonic hyperpower, because of its unilateral military actions worldwide.[33]
Pentagon strategist, Edward Luttwak, in The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire[34] outlined three stages, with hegemonic being the first and followed by imperial. In his view the transformation proved to be fatal and eventually led to the fall of the Roman Empire. His book is an implicit advice to Washington to continue the present hegemonic strategy and refrain from establishing empire.