It is tempting to compare the present era with the 19th century, when Britain was the sole superpower.

ECONOMIST: Quid pro quo

Despite the court's repeated assurances, American congressmen and officials feared that the world's sole superpower would become the target of politically-motivated prosecutions.

ECONOMIST: International Criminal Court

And Mr Hussein, however badly he misjudges world opinion, retains a bizarre charisma in much of the Arab world for his dogged defiance of the world's sole superpower.

ECONOMIST: Let��s be diplomatic, say the neighbours

You know, the concern that the United States was too powerful, that the United States was perhaps going to go it on its own now that it was the sole superpower, as we used to refer to it.

NPR: Role of U.S. Changing in New World Order