Joseph Nye's 2010 essay "The Future of American Power: Dominance and Decline in Perspective.", published in Foreign Affairs aims to address the contemporary trend of anticipating deterioration in the hegemonic power of America. Specifically, Nye rebuts the accepted Security predictions of a rising China and declining United States (US), instead favouring the idea that America will remain integral to international affairs, should they implement the correct smart power strategies1. Nye proposes to answer two main questions: Is the United States in decline? And what is the role of a rising China in the modern world? Nye has analysed the debate through the lens of Complex Interdependence2 endeavouring to contribute a unique thesis to security literature through challenging commonly held notions of truth. Established through an examination of Nye's essay, the delineation of power transition allows for the portrayal of the complexities of a purported hegemonic 'decline' in the modern world, and how hegemonic weakening may be mediated through the use of smart power3, control of political polarisation, and increased economic soft power. Nye somewhat successfully examines power transitions, aiming to disprove US hegemonic decline through clear, well-linked arguments, arguably adding a constructive thesis to security literature. Nye has logically surmised his arguments into four key points: the role of hegemonic decline in modern states; the significance of a rising China; the importance of US domestic policy; and finally, an analysis of America's position in the modern world. Firstly, Nye defines power and the effect of declining power for the US. He establishes the metaphors of Rome and Britain's organic decline and elaborates on three-dimensional distributions of contemporary power.4 He develops analogies, surmising that America is not in decline, merely stagnation.5 Subsequently, Nye outlines why scholars believe China is rising, offering statistics on the economy and population, however, this lacks a citation, substantially reducing the quality of the argument.6 Following this, he discusses America's domestic policy, arguing that the US has experienced social issues invariably, yet today's issues are menial compared to those of the past and that forecasts have exaggerated their future impacts.7 Nye addresses the problem of power conversion in the US, citing that a decline in public confidence may create a climate of distrust that generates unprecedented events.8 Again, Nye uses statistics to provide a valuable point for further analysis, but lacks comprehensive evidence. Finally, Nye analyses America's position in the modern world and the necessity of implementing smart power to curtail China's astronomical economic growth9. Although Nye lacks evidence to fully cement his claim in certain areas, this essay holds a considerable place in modern Security Literature and offers a platform from which to develop further theories regarding not only the rise of China but also the prominence of hegemonic states in this zeitgeist. Nye has successfully examined transitioning power through analysis of the distribution of power, logically addressing key points. 1 Joseph S. Nye. "The Future of American Power: Dominance and Decline in Perspective." Foreign Affairs 89, no. 6 (2010): 12. Accessed March 19, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/20788711.