The Impact of Foreign Policy Costs on American Global Power

Document Type : Research

Author

Associate professor in the Dept. of International Relations, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies (IHCS), Tehran, Iran

10.22126/ipes.2026.12693.1766

Abstract

The recent US developments, more specifically following Donald Trump's re-election have caused expanding the idea of ​​"the US as a declining superpower" more than before. Advocates of this notion rely on both alarming data indicating America's weakening and theories regarding decline as inevitable fate of all great powers. The question of this article is whether the US is doomed to an inevitable decline, or it still has the possibility of reproducing its power and hegemony. It seems that the American economy because of several reasons especially the heavy costs of overburdened foreign policy has encountered challenges threatening continuation of the current position of power. However, the decline and power cycle is not indispensable for the current century, since the US has strong capacities to restore hegemonic power. The concept of foreign policy costs here refers to all the costs that the US government has willingly or unwillingly accepted in the course of maintaining and developing the liberal international order. The hypothesis while being influenced by the declinist theories, tends to criticize them. A combination of quantitative and qualitative data will be used to confirm the hypothesis.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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International Political Economy Studies
Volume 9, Issue 2
September 2026
Pages 129-149

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History

  • Receive Date: 26 August 2025
  • Revise Date: 01 April 2026
  • Accept Date: 20 August 2026

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