Contemporary Political Studies

Contemporary Political Studies

Internal factors and indicators of political decline in U.S.A

Document Type : .

Authors
1 Ph.D. Candidate of Political Science, Shahreza Islamic Azad University, Iran
2 Associate Professor ,Department of Political Science and International Relations, Faculty of Humanities, Isfahan Islamic Azad University (Khorasgan)
3 Department of Political Science and International Relations, Faculty of Humanities, Isfahan Azad University, (Khorasgan)
Abstract
Abstract
The set of developments and trends leading to the redistribution of international power and changes in international rules and regulations, as well as the increase in political, social economic polarity within America during the last few decades, has caused a change in the theories and narratives of political macro and micro and to the fundamental concepts of the field of politics. Three decades after Fukuyama ruled out the possibility of a world different from the world dominated by liberal democracy in the form of heralding the end of history, American political science researchers warn that liberal democracy is now not only an eternal system, but its signs of decline are also visible.
Three decades after the “End of history”; American political scientists have warned that liberal democracy is now not only an eternal system but also showing signs of decline. In this article, we try to answer the question: What are the internal factors and indicators of political decline in the United States? The main hypothesis of the research is that a set of factors in the internal environment of the United States, including democratic destabilization, the appearance of American socialism, increasing inequality, and the growing power of lobbies, are effective in the process of American political decline, and international factors alone cannot be considered effective in this matter. The findings of the research based on the descriptive-analytical method show that the decline of norms and behavioral patterns is the cause of political decline in the domestic environment of America, and indicators such as the aforementioned four factors accelerate the process of political decline and social conflicts.
Keywords: Political decline, Sociological institutionalism, democratic destabilization, American socialism, lobbies.
 
Introduction
The issue of the decline of America's power and position in the international system has long been studied among international relations scholars. Joseph Nye wrote in 2004 an article in Foreign Affairs that America's attractiveness to the world is seriously declining. He considers the main reasons for this to be political hegemony, economic superiority, and the imposition of cultural values on others. Richard Haas wrote in his book "Foreign Policy Begins within America," in 2014 advises his country's leaders that resolving America's international challenges requires a review of domestic policies. According to his opinion “a rising China, climate change, terrorism, nuclear Iran, turbulent Middle East, and reckless North Korea are all serious challenges to US national security."  Political decline in the theory of hegemonic stability generally means a relative decline in hegemonic power, which is accompanied by a weakening of the superpower's desired international institutions and norms. In the present study, political decline refers to the decline in US power in the domestic dimension, which will prevent the US from having the ability to restore its absolute hegemony and unilaterally expand the international regime in the future. In this article, we seek to answer the question what are the internal factors and indicators of political decline in the US? The main hypothesis of this study is that a set of factors in the domestic environment of the United States has been effective in the process of US political decline, and international causes and indicators alone can not be considered effective in this matter.
 
Materials & Methods
This article attempted to answer the main question using a descriptive-analytical method what are the internal factors and indicators of political decline in America? Among the old institutionalist sociologists, Philip Selznick considers the institution as a product of social consensus. From his perspective, the institution is an arena in which specific interests and conflicts are negotiated and reconciled.   Fukuyama In his book “Political Order and Political Decline,” considers the three components of political order in liberal democracy are “government, rule of law, and accountability
Fukuyama describes the inefficiency of the institutionalized government based on the lack of conformity with institutions or the formation of new institutions. In the polarized American society, especially after Trump’s victory in the 2016 elections, can be seen the indicators of political decline in American society and institutions.
According to Fukuyama, the components of political order in liberal democracy are in conflict with each other. In other words, the inefficiency of institutions and the inability to adapt to the environment can cause the formation of a prelude to the decline in the socio-political structure.
 
Discussion & Result
Until the 1990s, political scientists studied the issue of decline in the context of societies that are changing the stability and continuity of political order in liberal democracies was considered a given and certain. However, with the intensification of political competition and the polarization of the political space of American society, the factors of decline in the United States were gradually discussed and examined.  The findings of this study, based on the descriptive-analytical method, show that the decline of norms and behavioral patterns, including democratic destabilization, increasing inequality, the monetization of politics, the increased power of lobbies, and social conflict resulting from the polarized political space, can be considered as the main factors and indicators of political decline in the U.S Domestic environment. These components reinforce and complement each other, and from the dynamic interaction between them, the indicators of American decline emerge.
 
Conclusion
This article has attempted to show the factors that have contributed to the decline of America’s position in the domestic dimension. It is noteworthy that the decline of America means the partial depletion of its energy and capacity to unilaterally manage and regulate global affairs and to finance its hegemony, and therefore it should not be considered equivalent to the collapse of this country. Less than three decades after Fukuyama ruled out the possibility of a world different from that dominated by liberal democracy, he heralded the end of history with the undisputed supremacy of liberal democracy and the market economy. Political scientists warn that liberal democracy is not only no longer an eternal system, but that signs of its decline are also becoming apparent. Trump's victory in the 2016 election confronted the world with a new American reality. Polarity is growing, and the ruling elite and American bureaucracy have no prescription for moderating it. Because, as Fukuyama has stated in his book Political Order and Decline, bureaucracy itself is an important part of the reasons for its growth.
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