United States Foreign Policy: From Military Hegemony to Soft Power

By the end of the Cold War and the end of the twentieth century, a new trend had been established in the world on the basis of the US being the great power, based upon which international rules were set. The “11 September” event like “Pearl Harbor” played a significant role in the foreign policy of the United States. The United States failing the crisis management after 11 September event couldn’t maintain its hegemonic stand on the one hand and with the emergence of economic crisis, the US lost its control over the situation which led to disturbing the hegemony of the US on the other. Under these circumstances, the US is facing legitimation crisis, so it is making a strenuous effort to repair its international image. America’s approach since Bush’s government was using hard power in gaining legitimation in the international arena; however this approach failed during these 8 years and with Obama coming to power, power was viewed from a different perspective. Today America using soft power is striving for making new allies all over the world, because by the advent of new powers, a modern trend in the international environment is being established.