| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Analysts frequently assess the underlying character of the state with the largest concentration of material capabilities in the system-the hegemon. Scholars typically differentiate a hegemon that is benevolent from one that is predatory. In the current era, many have wondered about how to best characterise the United States. Scholars became particularly interested in this question during the George W Bush administration and reached strikingly different answers. This article aims to provide greater clarity regarding how we reach a judgment about the underlying character of a hegemon, in general, and the United States, in particular. The first section analyses the policies that the hegemon adopts towards the global economic system. The second section considers the hegemon's policies in the security realm, focusing on the key issue of how unilateralism should be conceptualised. The final section discusses the potential significance the 'hegemonic reference point'-that is, the comparison that is made between the hegemon and the leading alternative leader of the global system.
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