The end of the ‘American Century’: Is there decline in the West?

The notion of an ‘Asian Century’ is usually based upon some fairly simplistic assumptions about a post-millennium shift away from American economic and strategic dominance. Western contract law is grounded in protections of individual interests in economic, as well as political, arrangements. To complicate matters further, funds are provided by foreign governments or commercial interests in order to influence otherwise independent American institutions that provide ‘objective’ studies in support of public policy initiatives. In any event, most of the changes are consistent with the changing mission and capability of American forces, whereby more sophisticated weaponry is substituted for military personnel. With the elimination of Cold War tensions, East and Southeast Asian nations feel that there is less of a need for the American military to underpin security interests in the region. Reductions in the physical presence America’s military are offset by its ability to generate and apply advanced technologies.