Date Approved

2026

Degree Type

Open Access Senior Honors Thesis

Department or School

Political Science

First Advisor

Joshua Koss, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Shu Wang, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Barbara Patrick, Ph.D.

Abstract

Is the United States' global hegemony sustainable if its society continues to decline? It is undeniable that global U.S. power is declining as a plethora of internal crises weaken the country from the inside out. Over many years, the U.S. has spent trillions of taxpayer dollars overseas to garrison and develop many countries, while millions of its citizens struggle weekly to maintain a respectable quality of life. The cries of injustice from the American people grow louder as the Pax Americana weakens under internal and external pressures. This research examines the rationale and advantages of the United States reorienting its global defense strategy at this juncture of transition from unipolarity to a multipolar international order. With the emergence of multiple regional powers and potential great powers on the international stage, the U.S. must reconsolidate its global position, which is currently vulnerable due to its overstretched posture. This research examines the benefits of reducing the costs associated with deploying U.S. military personnel and assets, as well as with foreign aid to specific regions of the world. Additionally, this study conducts a cost-benefit analysis of U.S. involvement in Europe and the Middle East, weighing the likelihood and number of conflicts in these two regions, and the potential extent of U.S. intervention therein, against the necessity and benefits to the U.S. in doing so, to determine how the U.S. should scale back.

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