The weakening hegemon's quest for an alliance in the Indo-Pacific: AUKUS

ABSTRACT AUKUS is one of the most significant reflections of the rivalry in the Indo-Pacific region between the US and China. US, which seems to be pursuing a strategy of creating an alliances system in the region, particularly with the steps it has taken recently, is trying to use this initiative paving the way for Australia to possess nuclear submarines as leverage to balance China militarily. It has been first considered that this Pact may yield various military gains to the US in the region; this alliance may also be associated with the weakening of its hegemony, however. Based on this fact, Wallerstein's World Systems Theory approach, which explains the transformation of hegemony through different phases, was used in this study to better understand the conditions that led to AUKUS. Then, it was concluded that this Pact, in some sense, is a regional reflection of the US decline globally.