"It seems likely, then, that we are now entering a time after order, a time of enduring hegemonic crisis. Some might read this situation as a revival of the status quo ante, since, in the long sweep of modern history, the American century was exceptional for the global extent of hegemony exercised by a leading power. However, contrary to the emerging common sense, this does not imply return to a geostrategic dispute managed through “spheres of influence” — a legalistic arrangement associated with the late nineteenth century, through which colonial powers divided mostly distant territories.

There is no pact of noninterference between the United States and China; and, while both will most forcefully assert primacy over their respective regions, neither will manage to expel the other.

The world after order is giving form to a “zonal geopolitics,” in which different terms of great-power dispute will likely prevail across different geographic zones. This is a more unstable and dangerous interimperial arrangement, and it has significant implications for international governance and cooperation. Those rightly concerned with developing international institutions to protect sovereignty and constrain empire might be well-advised to focus their efforts regionally and on the formation of blocs that can compel great powers to moderate pursuit of their own particularist interests."

https://jacobin.com/2026/03/post-order-us-global-dominance/

#USA #Trump #China #Imperialism #Superpower #Geopolitics #Hegemony