Hegemony and Democracy

Hegemony and Democracy is constructed around the question of whether hegemony is sustainable, especially when the hegemon is a democratic state. The book draws on earlier publications over Bruce Russett’s long career and features new chapters that show the continuing relevance of his scholarship. In examining hegemony during and after the Cold War, it addresses:


The importance of domestic politics in the formulation of foreign policy;


The benefits and costs of seeking security through military power at the expense of expanding networks of shared national and transnational institutions;


The incentives of other states to bandwagon with a strong but unthreatening hegemon and 'free-ride' on benefits it may provide rather than to balance against a powerful hegemon.


The degree to which hegemony and democracy undermine or support each other.

By applying theories of collective action and foreign policy, Russett explores the development of American hegemony and the prospects for a democratic hegemon to retain its influence during the coming decades. This collection is an essential volume for students and scholars of International Relations, American Politics, and US Foreign Policy.

Bruce Russett is Dean Acheson Professor of International Politics at Yale, and edited the Journal of Conflict Resolution from 1972 to 2009. His book with John Oneal, Triangulating Peace, won the International Studies Association prize for Best Book of the Decade. This is his 27^th book.

1. A Democratic Hegemon? 2. Democracy, War, and Expansion through Historical Lenses 3. Dimensions of Resource Vulnerability: Some Elements of Rigor in Concept and Policy Analysis 4. U.S. Hegemony: Gone or Merely Diminished, and How Does it Matter? 5. The Real Decline in Nuclear Hegemony 6. The Future as Arbiter of Theoretical Controversies: The Scientific Study of Politics and Predictions with James Lee Ray 7. Courting Disaster: NATO vs. Russia and China with Allan C. Stam 8. A Neo-Kantian Perspective: Democracy, Interdependence and International Organizations in Building Security Communities 9. Democratic Intergovernmental Organizations Promote Peace with Jon Pevehouse 10. Security Council Expansion: Can’t and Shouldn’t 11. Liberalism 12. No Clear and Present Danger: A Skeptical View of the United States Entry into World War II 13. Democracy, Hegemony, and Collective Action