AO1 the USA has faced difficulties in wars such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and US soft power has also been weakened by the ‘war on terror’ and the extraordinary rendition and Guantanamo Bay incidents AO2 A counter-argument to the dominance of US military power could be built on the reduced significance of hard power in global politics, this may be judged as showing diminished hegemony. AO3 therefore US hard power was discredited in Iraq and Afghanistan and there is a growing view that soft power is becoming more significant and as this is not an approach adopted by the US, if it continues to grow it could signal a weakening of its hegemonyAO1 the economic model of the USA has been challenged by the global financial crisis. China, in particular, has grown at a remarkable rate and is expected to overtake the US economy within a decade or so. There has been a rise of the BRIC statesAO2 The rise of BRIC states seems to challenge economic, and even structural, dominance and the USA has found that it is unable to tackle the global financial crisis alone. Economic competitors have seen significant growth, suggesting that US economic dominance may be weakening AO3 Therefore this may be judged to indicate diminished hegemony, and the fact that China is continuing to grow in importance and that the financial crisis is still not totally resolved, this may lead to further weakening of the US grip on powerAO1 there have been a number of areas where the USA has been unable to exert significant political influence, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian support for Assad in Syria, Chinese ambitions in AsiaAO2 Failure of the USA to exert influence in numerous areas appears to challenge the idea of US influence, as US hard power failed against opponents using guerrilla tactics in asymmetric war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Global criticism of US tactics increased as did a wider criticism of the tactics used in the ‘War on Terror’, including extraordinary rendition and Guantanamo Bay.AO3 This therefore may be judged to indicate diminished hegemony as the US has been fundamentally weakened and discredited by the actions in Iraq and Afghanistan and will find it far harder to successfully engage in similar military action in the future.AO1 the actions of North Korea and Iranian nuclear ambitions mean that the US has faced new challengers, including the EU, as a collection of states, a resurgent Russia and a growing China. AO2 Chinese military expenditure and economic growth alongside soft power development means that it is becoming a significant challenge to US hegemony. The EU has a growing involvement in foreign policy areas, as well as an economic strength and soft power ability, and also challenges US hegemony. A resurgent Russia, able to resist US pressure in areas such as Crimea and Syria also suggests a weakening US position, AO3 Consequently long-term US hegemony, measured in a number of ways has been questioned on several occasions and will, inevitably, remain a topic of debate. Loss of military, economic and structural dominance may be judged to signify lost or, at least, diminished hegemony.