From Empire to the Politics of Great Powers: Scope, Contradictions, and Dangers

Abstract

Great power politics aspires to be at the top of the future of the world. However, we examine in this work that it is actually also one of the main sources of international insecurity over time. In this way, the text draws on some of the most prominent theoretical-methodological contributions in the fields of History, Political Science, Political Theory, International Relations and Security Studies. A general approach to the explanation of a Great Super Power after 1945 is the State that can influence from nuclear and space supremacy to economic power with global reach, a proactive foreign policy with regional and global influence. From there, it seeks to influence the construction of an architecture of the international system ad hoc to its long-term interests. As if this were not enough, it advocates the defense of a culture with civilizational dimensions and can situate the “others” as the enemies. Indeed, its aspiration is global, its scope ethnocentric and in that drive, it reveals its weaknesses when its elites break the rules of the internal political pact to settle their future. This evolution progresses from the Roman Empire, the British Crown, two World Wars, the Cold War and unipolarity. In the 21st century, the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation dispute with Washington the leadership of the liberal order that was born after the end of the Second World War, today in crisis. Finally, the reader will find in these pages nuances that allow us to understand a view that goes beyond structural determinism: superpowers can also collaborate in certain situations. However, they favor their own interests that are often disruptive for both world security and the Global South. Therefore, Mexico and Latin America need to renew their understanding of this process and participate in this debate of the greatest strategic importance for their political future.