America is the unchallenged superpower of the world, and there is no way that anyone could threaten that status – right? We think we’re on top and that there’s no where to go but up. But the funny thing is, that’s what the Sumerians thought. And the Romans. And the Mongols.

Today, the United States faces its greatest challenge yet. The “emerging” markets of India and China have emerged. Their massive population, considerable military and political influence make their rise even more significant. Simply put, India and China aren’t just economic powers. They’re world powers.

The question is not whether America’s power will decline. The question is how America will react when its power finally dissipates. As India and China shove the United States into the background, our response will shape the lives of millions.

There are three basic dimensions for global influence: the economic, the political and the military. Right now, the economy is fueling the rise of India and China. In the coming years, it will become increasingly clear that America is losing its influence on the global economy.

In the political sphere, India and China are already starting to crowd the block. The hubbub about the two countries in Europe this week is economic, but as the European Union faces its own concerns, it will seek to forge the sorts of political ties with India and China that will serve it well in the future.

That leaves the military. This will be the toughest area for India and China to dominate. Yes, there will be an arms race – India and China have long-standing territorial disputes and certainly do not trust each other’s success. But it won’t be your parents’ arms race. When the U.S. and Russia sprinted for the nuclear finish line, they ruled the world. No one had the agency to hold them back. Today India and China are powerful but not dominant. This is because the military rise of these two countries will be slow, and America will have ample opportunities to stroke its ego.

We already see it. The war in Iraq is about more than the immediate. It is about America asserting its voice when the rest of the world isn’t listening. But Iraq is only the beginning. As America feels control slipping out of its hands, excessive military action could become the last, beleaguered stand of an empire gone out of fashion. By “winning” wars the way only the United States can, our leaders can feed nationalism while keeping up the facade that no one can challenge America.

We will do this, but we won’t stop the trend. What we can do is come to terms with the fact that we don’t command the world anymore. You can close your eyes, but it wont stop the sun from shining. We can waste billions of dollars and sacrifice thousands of lives to get that secure feeling of brutal force and devastating authority. But at the end of the day, dead men can’t vote in the UN or buy your products, and the living ones will go to India and China instead.

Prajwal Ciryam is a Weinberg senior. He can

be reached at [email protected].