[OUTLOOK]World order according to America

The world, which had been peaceful for almost a decade since the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Iron Curtain, was shaken from its sleep when terrorists attacked the heart of New York City on Sept. 11.

It is curious to see what the outcome of the United States' effort to eradicate terrorist activities from the world will be.

Whether the United States agrees or not, it has already become the dominant nation in the world, therefore our future relies very much on decisions made by the United States.

For the world to become peaceful as it once was the Untied States must act wisely and righteously, and if it acts in an opposite manner not only will the result affect the people of United States, but it could bring disaster for the entire world.

The United States has the greatest military force in the history of mankind. Just looking at the national defense budget proposed to the U.S. Congress by President George W. Bush indicates that if the United States continues to increase its budget on national defense the amount would soon exceed the budgets of all other nations combined.

Not only does the United States have a great national defense budget, but its advanced military technology is unsurpassed. The same thing goes for the U.S. economy, which has long been a leader.

For quite some time we have been living in a world where everything is led by the United States. Other leading countries are already conscious of American leadership and trying to adapt to the reality of U.S. domination. Since Sept. 11, China and Russia have stressed the improvement of relationships with the United States. It can be said that the relationship between the United States and Russia has never been closer. Even China's top priority appears to be the improvement of its relationship with the United States.

Interestingly, India, which at one time had a tense relationship with China, a cooperative tie with Russia and a mistrusting relationship with the United States, has now became a nation with a close and cooperative relationship with the United States.

Additionally, despite the fact that the United States was having pro-India diplomatic thoughts, the United States succeeded in establishing cooperative relationships with Pakistan as well. Obviously Pakistan, which in the past had a strong ally in China, had no other choice but to choose the United States as a cooperative nation, even if the United States was pro-India.

Mr. Bush clearly showed the role of his nation and the power that nation holds while visiting three Asian countries: Japan, China and South Korea. All three countries focused meetings with him on strengthening ties with the United States.

The United States has dominated the world's hegemony without question. But the problem lies not in whether the United States will lead the world, but how it will manage to lead.

The United States obviously wishes the world to establish a single order. One cannot control incidents that happen between countries that do not have a structural order. In order to manage the world as a unified structure ?or at the very least a procedure ?restriction, regulation and principle are necessary.

One thing the United States must keep in mind, however, is that the regulations and restrictions that constitute the structure of a world order should not contradict the interest of the most dominant nation, the United States.

But at the same time, the United States must give the impression that it matches the interests and profits of other nations as well. The United States' effort to expand and enhance free trade over the years could be evaluated as positive.

But the problem is that major power nations must follow the regulations and restrictions that they themselves have created. Recently, the U.S. government's decision to increase import taxes on steel contradicts the country's assertion about free trade.

When the United States does not follow a regulation that it has created it is hard to expect other countries to accept the regulation as well. In any society it is hard to expect volunteer cooperation amongst society members with physical force. It is certain that order is possible only when forces and legitimacy are combined.

The United States must play a difficult role in establishing a new world order. I believe the United States will choose to manage such a role wisely. We are living in a world in which Americans and non-Americans have to pay attention to what the United States does.

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The writer is the president of the Institute of Social Sciences.

by Kim Kyung-won