Here in the United States of America we tend to take our dominance in world affairs for granted. The United States is generally considered to be the most powerful and influential nation in the world, but that does not mean that we inherently deserve to be.

Almost any political scientist would tell you that currently the world is in a state of hegemony. This means that there is one overarchingly powerful nation, the hegemon, which happens to be the United States. According to the Hegemonic Stability Theory, the existence of a hegemon allows for greater stability concerning international affairs, and is partly responsible for the lack of major international conflict since the end of the Cold War.

The United States has earned its rank as hegemon by consistently being the most powerful country in the world. As they say, money makes the world go around, and the United States has a lot of it. Not only are we ranked first in gross domestic product, we are a country that has shown a dedicated interest in international relations, as exemplified by our hosting of the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

There has been much talk over the past few years about the dominance of the United States possibly declining, and a new major power arising in our place. When most people think of another country taking the United States’ place as the most influential nation, the People’s Republic of China comes to mind.

Any memories of the presidential race certainly involve talk of how each candidate would deal with China specifically. Beyond political races, newspapers and televised newscasts report daily that China is growing rapidly in almost all major areas that make a country dominant, such as investment in higher education and global economy share.

While there are many differing viewpoints on the possibility of China or any other country supplanting the United States as the major superpower of the world, there can be little argument that it is a prevailing conception. According to livescience.com, two-thirds of the population of Japan feels China will replace the United States, while more than half of China thinks so and only 54 percent of Americans think that the United States will retain its position of supremacy.

A replacement of the United States does not mean the end of the world. Of course those of us here in the United States would love to see our country be the best in the world, but our competitiveness and comfortable lifestyles are not a concern for the rest of the world. There is no reason to think that the world as a whole would suffer from a new hegemon, as long as we here in the United States can concede gracefully if the need arises.

Of course that does not mean that America should simply roll over and stop trying to be a global superpower, only that conflict is not a requirement when one country becomes more powerful than another.

Those of us in the United States need to understand that we are not owed anything by the rest of the world, and should act accordingly. We may have been world leaders for the past few decades, and contributed immensely to mankind, but we are only one in a long string of different nations that have dominated the world at various times, such as Alexander the Great’s Macedonia or the global British Empire of the nineteenth century.

It could be contended that many countries such as China have human rights issues, and this should somehow disqualify them from being an international leader. This can be quieted with a good long look at our own past.

Even countries founded upon the principles of political freedom and republicanism like the United States have black spots on our moral record, including the acquisition of our land from its former inhabitants and the fact that until 1865 citizens could own other human beings.

Perhaps it is simply not the place of the United States to judge our possible successors, just as our presidents have traditionally declined to criticize their successors. After all, our status as an influential nation does not exist in isolation, but rather only exists in the context of all other countries.

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Phil Brown is a senior in political science, biology, and environmental studies from Emmetsburg, Iowa.