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Professors discuss America’s place on global stage

By Andrew Slade, Gavel Media Team, on April 30, 2010 8:21 PM

By Andrew Slade, For The Gavel -

Earlier this week, Boston College’s Political Science Association (PSA) hosted an event entitled “U.S. Power: Waxing or Waning?” The PSA assembled a panel of four professors from the political science department: David Deese, Timothy Crawford, Robert Ross and Mark Sheetz. Although their explanations and specific points varied, all four agreed that American power is waning.

Crawford, began by outlining a general definition of what exactly “power” means. He presented a trichotomy of three faces of power, which he suggested could be used to as a basis for determining the present state of the power of government. Included were the ability to directly cause people to do what you want, the ability to set an agenda and decide which issues are attended to and which are ignored and the ability to change the way others think about their own interests.

Crawford commented on the style in which these abilities have been exercised recently, and how the differences in execution between President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama could result in different policy and perception from foreign governments. On whether or not this changed image will become reality, Crawford pointed to Obama’s ability to negotiate international issues like nuclear proliferation, global warming and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For the most part, Crawford explained that Obama has been able to do little more than get people to talk about these matters thus far.

Deese focused on psychological aspects of power, such as the prestige associated with a country or person, and the ability to attract others to a cause based on the long-term legitimacy of a nation’s policies. He highlighted the fact that power is always contextual, and that there is presently disequilibrium between America’s power and its global military and economic commitments.

In his statement, Ross focused on the power of other nations in comparison to that of the U.S., expanding on Crawford’s assertion that power must be assessed in context. “In that respect, America’s power is not what it used to be,” Ross said.

For Ross, the two primary areas to look at when evaluating power are military and economic strength. While America has seen success in both areas and is continuing to make advancements, Ross explained that other countries like China are catching up, as their economy grows at ten percent annually, versus three-percent growth in the United States.

The fourth panelist, Sheetz, centered his argument on the fact that the bipolar and unipolar power the United States has experienced since World War II has been anomalous, noting that it has allowed America to grow an economy that accounts for one quarter of global industrial production, and a military more advanced than any other. Sheetz went on to echo the sentiment expressed by Ross, suggesting that the distribution of power in the world is shifting.

“The U.S. is declining in relative terms, largely because when you’re on top, the only place to go is down,” Sheetz said.

After each of the professors gave their prepared statements, the moderator opened the floor to questions from the audience. A student in attendance asked whether there is a solution that would allow America to maintain its place at the top, or whether there is nothing that can be done at this point. The panelists joked that the question was characteristically American before answering.

Ross suggested that the federal government take real steps to get the economy back on track and reduce deficits. These include cutting defense spending, ending our wars, increasing the retirement age, raising taxes (which he noted are presently lower than they were under President Ronald Reagan) and establishing a new energy policy. Crawford and Deese made some similar suggestions, but said that it might not be possible to remain the world’s only superpower, while Sheetz offered the simplest advice.

“The solution when you’re digging yourself a hole is to stop digging,” Sheetz said.