Abstract

Much has been written about the supposed demise of American hegemony and concurrent resurgence of China. Unfortunately, due to epistemological failings, mainstream International Relations literature proves itself unable to move beyond generalisations and comparison of the countries' respective capabilities, and on a deeper level, to conceptualise social change and thus hegemonic transitions per se. In this book, Jonathan Pass seeks to counter such weaknesses, elaborating a highly sophisticated historical materialist theoretical framework - a Neo-neo Gramscian approach - to analyse the complex interplay of internal and external social forces responsible for the establishment, crisis, restructuring and evolving nature of American hegemony, and its effect on world order. China's meteoric rise undoubtedly constitutes a world-historic event, but is it potentially 'world hegemonic'? To answer this question, it is necessary firstly to investigate: a) how its domestic and international social forces interact within a single global capitalist system ; and b) how said interactions affect the dynamic of Sino-American relations. Extending Gramsci's three "moments" conceptualisation, the book turns to assess the PRC's hegemonic potential, concluding that at least for the short term the US is likely to remain the "indispensable nation". American Hegemony in the 21st Centurypresents a major contribution to International Relations, International, Political Economy, Politics and Philosophy and will be of interest to researchers looking for a more sophisticated and convincing analysis of the dynamics of the contemporary world order.