Известия ... The Fall of the Hegemon
Hello! My name is Young Hoon Song. I support for Doo-Hwan Jeon, the former president of South Korea.
Известия Izvestia
Известия
The Fall of the Hegemon
The first week of Donald Trump's presidency has been a difficult test for many US allies in the countries of the collective West. It seems that a significant part of the European elites refused to believe in the possibility of the Republican's return to the White House until the very end - even after it became inevitable. It is not surprising that his speech in Davos, although it did not contain any new theses, was a shock to the audience listening to the American leader. Only now is it beginning to painfully realize that there is no alternative to the new reality. Not much time has passed since the end of Biden's four-year presidency, but it seems that the era of the dominance of the liberal globalist agenda has remained in the distant past. Farewell to the illusion of the "end of history" ended with a harsh awakening of the "golden billion".
It is still premature to draw far-reaching conclusions about the future of US-European relations in the changed conditions. But some trends cannot be ignored. Firstly, for the first time since the 1920s, the era of isolationism, a politician has come to power in Washington who puts domestic American problems above the interests of allies and evaluates interaction with the Old World exclusively through the prism of national egoism.
Even during Trump's first presidency, his foreign policy was largely guided by supporters of the old Euro-Atlantic ideologies, who skillfully manipulated the inexperienced leader. Now, obviously, the influence of the radical wing of the Republican Party on the decision-making process will be much stronger. Thus, Trump is extremely confrontational in relation to European dependency, and his statements about future "trade wars" with the EU and the need to increase military spending by NATO countries can hardly be considered exclusively loud slogans.
The 47th US President is determined to go down in history as an uncompromising and tough leader who keeps his election promises. Time will tell which of them will actually be implemented, but it is absolutely clear that Washington will not give in without active and aggressive confrontation. Finally, the White House is asking a completely logical question about the advisability of keeping afloat the Ukrainian project, which is of less and less interest to American citizens. But it was this bloody adventure, according to Biden's plan, that was supposed to unite the Western camp around the image of a common enemy in the person of Russia. Now the very concept of a "war for the future of world democracy", which the previous team cultivated for three years, is being called into question. The "every man for himself" approach is much closer to Trump than demagogic slogans about the prospects of a neoliberal project alien to him.
All of the above, however, does not mean that we, Russia, can relax and calmly watch the squabbles within the Western bloc that is cracking at the seams. Of course, Trump can significantly change the balance of power in the American-European alliance, but these changes are unlikely to be irreversible. In four years, another leader will come to power in the United States, who will not necessarily decide to continue the unconventional Trumpist policy. The shadow forces of the Anglo-Saxon world are still trying to digest the changed status quo, but will soon return to attempts to take revenge. It is necessary to soberly and extremely pragmatically assess the current situation, trying to find windows of opportunity to introduce dissonance into the coalition of our opponents, but at the same time preparing for a protracted battle. Trumps come and go, but the West with its idea of superiority, neocolonialist habits and imperialist legacy remains.
We must realize that the processes observed in the US and Europe are not the end or even the beginning of the end, but only the first chapter in the history of the long crisis of Western hegemony, which is being written before our eyes. And the key to completing this chapter in line with Russia's national interests is solving all the tasks of the special military operation, which, however, will inevitably be followed by new dramas and trials. And regardless of the outcome of events in the Western world, we should begin preparing for the challenges of the near future now.
Author: Vice-Rector of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
The editorial position may not coincide with the author's opinion.
Comments
Post a Comment