Hysterical Hegemonic Hyperpower

[Matthew X]

Resented for what it is, America also stokes antipathy by what it does. 
Here things have recently changed for the worse. The US is often a 
delinquent international citizen. It is reluctant to join international 
initiatives or agreements, whether on climate warming, biological warfare, 
criminal justice, or women's rights; the US is one of only two states (the 
other being Somalia) that have failed to ratify the 1989 Convention on 
Children's Rights. The present US administration has "unsigned" the Rome 
Treaty establishing an International Criminal Court and has declared itself 
no longer bound by the Vienna Convention on Law of Treaties, which sets out 
the obligations of states to abide by treaties they have yet to ratify. The 
American attitude toward the United Nations and its agencies is cool, to 
say the least. Earlier this year the US ambassador for human rights called 
for the early dismissal of the ad hoc tribunals for Rwanda and former 
Yugoslavia— even though these are integral to any serious war on 
international terror and the US itself spent millions of dollars to bribe 
Belgrade into handing Slobodan Milosevic over to the Hague tribunal. FROM
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/15632
integral to any serious war on international terror and the US itself spent 
millions of dollars to bribe Belgrade into handing Slobodan Milosevic over 
to the Hague tribunal.
To many outsiders this inconsistent approach to international organizations 
and agreements, some of which Washington helped to establish, belies 
America's claim to share international interests and seek multilateral 
partners for its goals. The same is true of American economic practices. 
The US is both advocate and exemplar of globalization—free-market 
capitalism untrammeled by frontiers, special interests, restrictive 
practices, protectionism, or state interference. But at home Washington 
applies steel tariffs, farm supports, and de facto government subsidies 
(notably for the defense industries) for domestic political gain.