British and American Hegemony Compared

"British and American Hegemony Compared: Lessons for the Current Era of Decline" is an essay written by David A. Lake which responds to a contempory application of hegemonic stability theory.

In accordance with the theory or hegemonic stability, international economic liberalization burgeoned around the globe in association with the ascendance of Great Britain as the economic world power. Along with the start of Britain's relative decline after 1870, the international system retracted its openness to trade and countries once again pursued more protectionist policies. Given the similarity of United States' hegemonic trajectory (also associated with a spread of economic liberalization) with that of Great Britain, many have predicted--and hegemonic stability theory would suggest--that a contraction of liberalization and return to national protectionism or closed regional economic blocs will follow the U.S. current decline. David Lake, however, argues that while the analogy between Great Britain's decline and the U.S.' is accurate to a degree, significant differences in the U.S.' rise and decline will prevent the contraction of trade that occurred after Great Britain descended from power.

Lake first points out that because most major economic powers of the 19th Century maintained empires as a supplement to open international trade, it was easy to revert to closed trading blocs in response the decline of Britain and greater--but less monitored--competition. The present international system is less likely to break down in regional blocs because bilateral relationships, outside of empire, are more visible and more risky than in they were.