Source: People's Daily (April 23, 2026, page 3) | Author: Zhong Sheng

https://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/pc/content/202604/23/content_30152655.html

The United States is accelerating its degeneration toward "might makes right." Breaking free of hegemonic logic, opening its eyes to the world, and genuinely embracing multilateralism and international cooperation — this is the right path for a major power.

美国正在向"以强权凌驾一切"加速退化。跳出霸权逻辑，睁眼看世界，真正拥抱多边主义与国际合作，才是大国正道。

Since the United States and Israel launched military strikes on Iran, the continuing turbulence in the Middle East has drawn the world's attention. While the international community hopes the fighting will end soon, it is also asking: what caused this war? The concept of "predatory hegemony" advanced by Stephen Walt, professor of international relations at Harvard University, offers a new perspective for understanding the logic of U.S. foreign policy.

美国、以色列对伊朗发动军事打击以来，中东的持续动荡牵动全球视线。国际社会在期盼战火早熄的同时，也在追问：这场战争因何而起？美国哈佛大学国际关系教授斯蒂芬·沃尔特提出的"掠夺性霸权"概念，为世人理解美国的对外政策逻辑提供了一个新视角。

"Predatory hegemony" refers to the United States using its privileged position within the international system to extract "concessions, tribute, and compliance" from allies and adversaries alike. In short, it means treating all bilateral relationships — not only those with rivals but also those with partners and allies — as zero-sum games, and seeking to extract maximum benefit from every interaction. Its core creed is: "What's mine is mine; what's yours is negotiable."

所谓"掠夺性霸权"，是指美国利用其在国际体系中的特权地位，从盟友和对手那里榨取"让步、贡赋与顺从"。简言之，就是将所有双边关系，不只是对手，也包括合作伙伴和盟友，都视为一场零和博弈，试图从每次交往中榨取最大利益。"我的归我，你的可谈"，便是其核心准则。

U.S. conduct has laid "predatory hegemony" bare for all to see. From wantonly withdrawing from international organizations and shirking international responsibilities, to invoking international rules when convenient and discarding them when not; from attempting to extort the world economically through tariff wars and trade wars, to now using or threatening military force against sovereign states without scruple, seizing resources and demanding territory — all of this clearly confirms that the United States is accelerating its degeneration toward "might makes right."

美国的所作所为已将"掠夺性霸权"暴露无遗。从肆意"退群"、抛弃国际责任，到对国际规则"合则用、不合则弃"；从试图通过关税战、贸易战对全球搞经济勒索，到如今动辄对主权国家使用或威胁使用武力，全无顾忌地抢资源、索领土……所有这些都清晰印证，美国正在向"以强权凌驾一切"加速退化。

This "degeneration" is manifest on two levels. The first is a degeneration in role. After the Cold War, the United States was always tinged with hegemonism, yet at least maintained on the surface a certain image of a "responsible actor": sustaining alliance relationships, providing a degree of international public goods, and leading the making and enforcement of international rules. Today, that mask is being stripped away at accelerating speed. The United States has degenerated fully into a "rule subverter" and "cooperation saboteur," turning instead to naked "law of the jungle" logic to sustain its hegemony.

这一"退化"体现在两个层面。一是角色定位的退化。冷战结束后，美国虽不乏霸权底色，却至少在表面上维持着某种"负责任行为方"的形象：维系盟友关系，提供一定的国际公共产品，主导国际规则的制定与执行。而今，这层面具已加速剥落，美国全然退化为"规则颠覆者"与"合作拆台者"，转而依靠赤裸裸的"丛林法则"维系霸权。

The second is a degeneration in strategic mindset. The relative decline of its hegemony has plunged the United States into deep anxiety. According to World Bank data, the U.S. share of global GDP has fallen from roughly 40% in 1960 to roughly 25% in 2023. The unease bred by this relative decline in power has made Washington increasingly unable to accept the changes in the world. The further development of economic globalization and the collective rise of the Global South have become a source of dread for certain American politicians. Judging that it no longer pays to uphold the existing international system, and driven further by the rise of domestic populism and intensifying political polarization, their mindset has degenerated into "America alone," and they have gone ever further down the road of unilateral bullying.

二是战略心态的退化。霸权相对衰落引发了美国的深度焦虑。据世界银行数据，美国国内生产总值占全球的比重已从1960年的约40%下降至2023年的约25%。实力相对下滑带来的不安，使华盛顿越来越难以接受世界的变化。经济全球化的进一步发展，全球南方的群体性崛起，成了一些美国政客的心病。他们认为维系现有国际体系不划算，再加上国内民粹主义抬头、政治极化加剧，其心态退化为"美国唯一"，在单边霸凌之路上越走越远。

"Predatory hegemony has sown the seeds of its own destruction from the moment of its birth," Walt wrote in the journal Foreign Affairs. On what basis does he reach this verdict?

"掠夺性霸权，从诞生之初就埋下自我毁灭的种子。"沃尔特在《外交》杂志上如此写道。何以作出这一判断？

First, "predatory hegemony" confuses the essential difference between power and influence. Genuine international influence rests on shaping shared interests and safeguarding the credibility of rules. When a major power begins dressing up its predatory behavior in a "victim narrative" and routinely threatens the international community with "tearing up agreements and walking out," it is in fact running down its international credibility. Its international influence will then, as the saying goes, decline "gradually, and then suddenly."

首先，"掠夺性霸权"混淆了权力与影响力的本质区别。真正的国际影响力，建立在对共同利益的塑造和对规则公信力的维护之上。当一个大国开始以"受害者叙事"为其掠夺行径正名，动辄以"毁约退群"要挟国际社会时，实际上是在透支其国际信誉，国际影响力必然"逐渐、然后突然"下滑。

Second, "predatory hegemony" is trapped in the cognitive snare of zero-sum thinking. When every interaction must be squeezed for "maximum benefit," allies will no longer feel secure, and neutral parties will be forced to seek alternatives. At present, the trend of American allies being placed on "the hegemon's dinner menu" is increasingly obvious; for those countries, accelerating strategic autonomy has become an essential option for safeguarding their own interests, and their "trust in the politics of an American great power has already been lost." A recent global public opinion survey released by the U.S. polling firm Gallup shows that in 2025, U.S. approval ratings plunged by more than 10 percentage points in 44 countries — with the drop especially pronounced among NATO allies. The United States is losing friends at astonishing speed, and this is precisely the price of "predatory hegemony."