Is the U.S. ready to put its pride in pocket?

The post-Cold War world led by America alone has come to an end. This perception is shared by many experts in and outside the U.S. But will the U.S. new leadership sacrifice the role of global hegemon?

Concerns with how the U.S. government has been running the country and trying to run the world are wide-spread.

Amal Jasentuliyana works at an alternative bookstore. To him it's ridiculous that in a modern world American politicians still believe the U.S. to be the world leader.

“We're the leaders of the free world”. It's like every politician in the U.S. has to say that to be elected, which I think makes no sense," Amal believes.

Meanwhile, the world is changing more than ever. Countries like China, India and Russia are becoming more powerful with a stronger voice in the international community.

But while Russia has been calling for a multi-polar approach to global issues, the U.S. has often acted on its own.

Paul Krugman is a Nobel Prize winner in economics and a New York Times columnist. He says the days of America's sole influence in the world are long over.

“The U.S. is already not the hegemon in the way it might once have been. Really, the United States has not been running the world for quite a while,” says Krugman.

Another expert, Robert, who is professor at Columbia University, says while the Bush administration thought it was leading the world, its actions have proven unsuccessful.

“In terms of the direction of change, clearly, the Bush administration's policies of unilateral American action in the end really didn't work,” says Shapiro.

So, accepting itself as an equal with the rest of the world could be a good way of improving foreign ties and its image abroad for the United States. With a crisis inside the country, there couldn't be a better time for the U.S. to start using a softer touch and a friendlier voice when it comes to others.