Global policeman

Global policeman (or world police^[1]) is an informal term for a superpower which seeks or claims the right to intervene in other sovereign states. It has been used, firstly for the United Kingdom and, since 1945, for the United States,^[2][3] though it has been suggested that China has been seeking to take over the role in the 21st century.^{[4][better source needed]}

The two terms hegemon and global policeman are not identical in meaning. The former term defines capacity for dominant control anywhere on earth, whereas the latter may also include small or large areas outside control, along with monitoring and attempted enforcements, but does not define any level of effectiveness.