Hegemony of the Heart: American Cultural Power in the Post-9/11 World

The power of the United States looks very different in the aftermath of September 11. Since the attacks, the earth’s major nations — ranging from the NATO countries to Russia to China to Japan — and so many others have put aside their differences with the United States. The U.S. and Russia may even emerge, at least for a time, almost as allies and not just against terrorism. There is talk of agreements on nuclear downsizing and missile defense, all but unimaginable before the attacks.

So in the face of a new kind of threat, new international alignments may be emerging. Perhaps the world will be reborn. But if a truly new order is to endure, the United States must take a hard look at one of the most discussed and least understood sources of international antagonism towards it, a source that is part myth and part deceptive reality: the idea that the United States is the dominating global nation, powerful to a degree and to an extent never before seen.

Link: Hegemony of the Heart: American Cultural Power in the Post-9/11 World - Policy Review