Pax Americana?

In response to the article here...

This whole notion of a Pax Americana, I think, is a flawed one. Was the 20th century truly the American century? Hardly. 1/5 of the century was spent in isolationism, and half of it in direct competition with the Soviet Union in which the USA repeatedly failed to win in Korea, China and S.E. Asia. Ultimately influence in Iran would be lost as well. The whole of Asia minus some islands off the coast and, maybe, Pakistan, was outside the influence of the USA. Influence in Africa was hardly solidified and only half of Europe was ever, barely somewhat, in league with the USA. How exactly a century could be defined as American when 80 miles offshore, its archenemy is deploying nuclear warheads?

In short, there never was an American century. Calling the 20th century the American Century is like pushing the Pax Romana back 200 years to when Carthage was still around. There was a period of time from 1990-2010, 80 years short of a century, when America stood unopposed by any major power and this short period was more the product of the vacuum effect of the collapse of the Soviet Union. A vacuum being more suitably filled by the regional powers who's backyard it is in.

The rise of China and India, the competition of the EU and resurrection of Russia are a return to the normalcy of a competitive world. The 'American century' was a mere 20 year hiccup where the USA faced no real competition and these characteristics can not be applied across the span of the 20th century.