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   The US Is No Longer a Global Hegemon    : Information Clearing House - ICH

The US Is No Longer a Global Hegemon : Information Clearing House - ICH: "February 03, 2009 'Daily Star' --- Changes in the status and power of nations, just like changes in economic conditions, are not always immediately apparent. There is, in the jargon of economics, a recognition lag between the time when an economic shock, such as a sudden boom or bust, occurs and the time when it is recognized by economists, central bankers and the government.

Recognition lag explains why, for example, economists have only recently acknowledged the current economic recession - several months after it began. And recognition lag might well be why officials and pundits are now failing to recognize the detrimental impact of the combination of the Iraq war and the financial crisis on America's standing in the international system.

Some attribute Washington's current difficulties in dictating global developments to the Bush administration's mismanagement of US diplomacy and national security policy. The conventional wisdom is that a more visionary and competent Obama administration will be able to reassert America's global leadership role - especially in the Middle East."

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