Anwen Hao

Intersecting Perspectives: Exploring Theories of Civilizational Decline and The Case of the United States

Started July 12, 2022

Abstract or project description

In this project, I will discuss the question: “Is the United States in decline?” More specifically, I will investigate whether the United States is losing its hegemony on the world stage. The United States has experienced many issues in the 21st century that raises the aforementioned question. In my pursuit of answering the prompt, I may discover that the future of the United States is unknowable because there are too many factors influencing its trajectory and too many complications that may occur; nevertheless, I will consult the literature published previously in academia on the subject.

To research this question, I will study the works of other historians, more specifically: Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, Collapse by Jared Diamond, and How Civil Wars Start by Barbara F. Walter. These authors provide alternative views on the trajectory of countries, and ultimately, some seemingly antagonistic points of view can complement each other and form a more comprehensive picture.

In my research process, I will also expect to find answers to the following additional topic: “How does a hegemonic power rise and decline?” To answer my primary question, I will need to investigate this additional topic because it is essential to the fundamental methodology of my project.

This paper may be of interest to those examining international and domestic trends.