A Study On The U.S. Institutional Hegemony

The United States of America has been building a new kind ofhegemony——a kind of hegemony with institutional character, and now its solidstatus as world hyperpower has been built. With the disintegration of SovietUnion after Cold War, a world consisting of one hyperpower and multi greatpowers has emerged, U.S. has strengthened the adaption to its institutionalhegemony to preserve its own status. The institutional hegemony of the U.S. hasbeen playing a role in world’s political, economical, and military organizationsin direct way or indirect way. It has always been a scholars’ focus when it comesto international relations while plentiful papers and books have been published.This article analyses the relationship between the institutional hegemony andNATO from the perspective of availability of international institutions. Over thepast half century, as a tool for the U.S. to promote its global hegemony, NATOhas been a spokesman for U.S.institutional hegemony.The first part of this paper introduces relative studies on institutionalhegemony and its availability, institutional hegemony, as opposed to powerhegemony, stresses the important role it can play in the build-up andmaintenance of hegemony. The paper points out that state power is thefoundation of the build-up of an institution. An available international institutioncontains3perspectives: the first, it must provides universal interests for allparticipants in the institution, second, it must be complete and stable, and third,it could make quick adjustments when situations change both inside and outside.The second part explains the status and role U.S.played along the wayNATO establishment. After World War Ⅱ, with strong and solid military, political and economic power, the U.S.claimed its status as world superpower,western countries had to face the reality and cooperate with the US as it wished.And in order to establish its hegemony, the U.S. absorbed western countries intoits own atmosphere in the way of collaboration.Third, it portrays the complete functioning systems of NATO. In order toensure the function of NATO,it has built institutions, military branches, and aseries of non-official organizations with relevant facilities; the built-up of NATOreflected the principle of equality as much as possible, but due to the hugesupport of U.S., the U.S. influence was everywhere in the NATO.The final part of the paper narrates that with the purpose of ensuring itsavailability, NATO adjusted its strategy, reformed its institutions, and expandedeastwards. It adjusted from its inside to meet the international situations andchanges inside.NATO has played a key role in the built-up and maintenance of US institutionalhegemony, as a miniature of U.S. institutional hegemony, it also could reflect theenergy of the hegemony. In some way it seems a little bit declining, but thanks to itsfoundation on absolute hard power, and its complete and flexible functioning system,NATO and U.S. institutional hegemony still demonstrate a strong vitality.