Globálne mocnosti - vybrané aspekty amerického
Global Powers - Selected Aspects of American Leadership

Summary/Abstract: Power potential and its attributes lay down the fundamental prerequisites enabling a state to achieve the highest positions within the power pyramid. In the case of the United states, democracy and free market contributed to the US global leadership, yet a significant role was played also by the character of the society and ideology. The aim of the article is to point out to the ideological sources of the US foreign policy that have led to the US rise as the global leader. The study begins with an explanation of the history of changes in the classification of powers, continues with models of power structure and the cycles of world hegemony. Special attention is paid to development of US foreign policy, focusing particularly on several contexts of the decision making process how to assume the role of a global power. This paper is approaching sources of American power in the second decade of the 21st century and outlines the potential and limits of American leadership.The study concludes that the military, economic and soft power resources have made the United States central to the workings of the global balance of power. But the potential domestic decline in the near future could bring the lost of capacity to convert the power resources into effective leadership. However, the American leadership in 21st century will not look like it did in the 20th century.

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