President Donald Trump made a shocking comment that left people in the Oval Office visibly uncomfortable on Thursday during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. A reporter asked Trump why he didn't tell U.S. allies, including European and Asian countries, such as Japan, that he was...
Many Western countries follow along and act as cheerleaders for US foreign policy. Seven countries (including Canada, France and Germany) have already signed on to help secure the Strait of Hormuz which is only blocked because of yet another US misadventure.
A lot of these countries are small and in terms of global influence would be middle powers at best if not part of a Western bloc. Trump is slowly eroding the concept of a Western bloc so the idea of collective credibility or collective values is eroding with that.
Most of the rest of the world sees Western countries as vassals of the US and the question now is will they be able to assert their independence on the world stage or will they simply go along with the US as they often do.
Care to point to any reports that other nations are viewing those other Western countries poorly as a result of Trump’s actions?
Securing the Strait of Hormuz seems to be self-interested actions by those nations; an attempt to reduce the impact of higher oil prices on their own economies. It’s a far cry from the Western world following the USA into Iraq with boots on the ground 20-odd years ago.
Trump is eroding the idea of a USA-led Western bloc. Canada’s PM Carney is leading the charge to create new middle-power blocs to establish credibility outside of the USA’s influence. I’m yet to see reports that those measures are being viewed in a negative fashion by the rest of the world, but I’m happy to be corrected.
It’s a matter of perspective. The Global South has always been acutely aware of Western hypocrisy and double standards, often being the victim of its perfidiousness. It’s just that the mask seems to be coming off now so the internal contradictions are much more apparent. People like Alexander Stubbe (Finland’s president) and Mark Carney understand this. Much of what Mark Carney said in his speech at Davos are perspectives that have been shared by prominent figures in the global south for some time now. He deserves credit for sharing it in a way that is palatable to Westerners. It remains to be seen if, in the abscense of the US as a central stabilizing force, an ex-US Western bloc would be able to maintain its global credibility and influence.
As the Global South (which makes up 80% of humanity) gains a more prominent voice on the global stage, certain internal contradictions will continue to move into the spotlight and Western credibility will be at risk of further erosion. The question is will the West be able to adapt in real time - acknowledging that the so called ‘rules based international order’ was never really a fair playing field but a tool to maintain Western hegemony - and take a leadership role in shaping the new world order.
Stubbe explains this well from a Western perspective in his book The Triangle of Power Rebalancing the New World Order (the triangle referring to the Global West, East and South).
Many Western countries follow along and act as cheerleaders for US foreign policy. Seven countries (including Canada, France and Germany) have already signed on to help secure the Strait of Hormuz which is only blocked because of yet another US misadventure.
A lot of these countries are small and in terms of global influence would be middle powers at best if not part of a Western bloc. Trump is slowly eroding the concept of a Western bloc so the idea of collective credibility or collective values is eroding with that.
Most of the rest of the world sees Western countries as vassals of the US and the question now is will they be able to assert their independence on the world stage or will they simply go along with the US as they often do.
Care to point to any reports that other nations are viewing those other Western countries poorly as a result of Trump’s actions?
Securing the Strait of Hormuz seems to be self-interested actions by those nations; an attempt to reduce the impact of higher oil prices on their own economies. It’s a far cry from the Western world following the USA into Iraq with boots on the ground 20-odd years ago.
Trump is eroding the idea of a USA-led Western bloc. Canada’s PM Carney is leading the charge to create new middle-power blocs to establish credibility outside of the USA’s influence. I’m yet to see reports that those measures are being viewed in a negative fashion by the rest of the world, but I’m happy to be corrected.
It’s a matter of perspective. The Global South has always been acutely aware of Western hypocrisy and double standards, often being the victim of its perfidiousness. It’s just that the mask seems to be coming off now so the internal contradictions are much more apparent. People like Alexander Stubbe (Finland’s president) and Mark Carney understand this. Much of what Mark Carney said in his speech at Davos are perspectives that have been shared by prominent figures in the global south for some time now. He deserves credit for sharing it in a way that is palatable to Westerners. It remains to be seen if, in the abscense of the US as a central stabilizing force, an ex-US Western bloc would be able to maintain its global credibility and influence.
As the Global South (which makes up 80% of humanity) gains a more prominent voice on the global stage, certain internal contradictions will continue to move into the spotlight and Western credibility will be at risk of further erosion. The question is will the West be able to adapt in real time - acknowledging that the so called ‘rules based international order’ was never really a fair playing field but a tool to maintain Western hegemony - and take a leadership role in shaping the new world order.
Stubbe explains this well from a Western perspective in his book The Triangle of Power Rebalancing the New World Order (the triangle referring to the Global West, East and South).