The United States of America has, for the last ~80 years or so, led the self-called Free World. This era has been referred to as the Pax Americana, though America's dominance over global politics has gradually been slipping over the course of a few decades. Not to say the U.S. isn't a powerful country anymore, political authority is now just more divided than it was in the 90s, when it had almost complete undisputed authority.