Regional Studies: American Studies - Israel Studies

Regional Studies: American Studies - Israel Studies

Analysis of the decline of the US hegemony in the international system based on its military spending in the Middle East

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Guest researcher at the Middle East Center for Scientific Research and Strategic Studies
Abstract
One of the determining components of the survival of a hegemonic state in the framework of the global capitalist system is the dynamics of the military-political economy of the hegemonic state. Thus, the size of the defense budget and expenditures have antagonistic and structural effects on the performance of the hegemonic government in terms of quantity and quality. This problem has a negative aspect in a long time based on the law of extensive negative reproduction, which reveals its consequences in the decline of hegemonic power on an international scale. In this regard, the determination of the hegemony of the United States in the second hegemonic cycle is accompanied by an exponential increase in its military expenditures for unlimited control over the unbalanced geometry of the world system. It seems that the problem has acquired complex and extensive dimensions, especially in the post-Soviet era in the Middle East region. In other words, the effort of the United States for direct imperial control over the territory of the heartland of the Middle East has consumed a massive part of the Pentagon's human, logistical, and financial resources in its plans for undisputed domination of the world. An interesting point in the importance of analyzing this issue is the progressive economic pressures caused by the presence of the United States in the Middle East on the exceptional American capitalist system, which imposes advanced and adverse effects on its performance and hegemonic position in the world system. The question posed in this regard is related to the direct relationship between the decline of the US hegemony and the high expenses of its military presence in the Middle East. In other words, what are the quantitative and qualitative effects of the US military presence in the Middle East region on the decline of its hegemonic power in the international system? The present article tries to analyze the question raised based on drawing a combined model of the hegemonic theory of Giovanni Arrighi and Paul Kennedy's theory about the inverse relationship between the decline of the hegemon's power and global influence and the increase of military costs.