The recent actions of US President Donald Trump appear to be an attempt to reinvigorate American influence and show that the country also commands the world and is capable of deceiving other countries into doing the same.
He has criticized global cooperation by stepping down from the UN climate agreements and the World Health Organization. His organization’s representatives have also stated that they will not attend future G20 conferences because he opposes South Africa’s 2025 policy.
He has also demonstrated a lack of concern for global solidarity by halting US support initiatives and undermining efforts to keep companies truthful. He has imposed tariffs on their imports, showing his contempt for friends.
These actions call for a reply from the rest of the global community that promotes efficient management of international affairs, as well as a risk to the well-being of people and planet.
According to my analysis of global financial leadership, background can provide some guidance on how to formulate a successful response.
Such a reply ought to be based on an accurate assessment of the global forces ‘ design. It should aim to create tactical alliances between condition and non-state celebrities in both the Global South and the Global North that you come to terms with explicit and constrained goals.
This idea is exemplified by the three historical teachings that follow.
Warning classes
The second lesson is about the risks of overestimating change’s possible.
In the late 1960s and first 1970s, the US was facing domestic upheaval, including the death of prominent politicians and the death of protesting individuals, as well as the war in Vietnam.
The US was likewise losing faith in its ability to maintain the Bretton Woods conference’s global economic attempt, which it had established in 1944.
Additionally, the nations of the world west were calling for a fresh, more effective global economic system. This seemed like a reasonable need given the concerns over the US’s political and economic situation and the Russian bloc’s comparative strength at the time.
In August 1971, President Richard Nixon, without any foreign interviews, launched what became known as the Nixon Shock. He broke the connection between the US dollar and golden, putting an end to the world’s economic system established in 1944. Additionally, he added a 10 % tax to all goods into the US.
US Treasury Secretary John Connolly informed them that the money was your problem but our money when America’s Western allies protested and pressed for a secular version of the ancient economic order.
US supporters in eastern Europe, Asia, and all nations that participated in the previous Bretton Woods system were forced to accept a market-based international financial system with the US dollar as the primary currency throughout the 1970s.
The US imposed their neo-liberal monetary get on the planet, along with its allies in the north of the globe, and defeated the calls for a new one.
The next admonishing session emphasizes the value of creating strong defensive alliances. The IMF’s member states ratified an agreement in 1969 to grant the organization’s special reserve asset, specific drawing rights.
Some IMF member states were against establishing a link between growth and the special drawing rights at the time. In order to finance their advancement, those nations that require the most funding would be able to obtain more than their fair share of specific drawing rights.
All developing nations backed this need. But they don’t acknowledge on how to do it. The proposed connection between special drawing rights and creation was broken by the wealthy nations by exploiting these differences.
In consequence, all IMF member states are now allocated the particular drawing rights in accordance with their IMF limits. This implies that the richest nations receive the majority of their allocations when they do not have them and are not required to share them with developing nations.
The powerful Jubilee 2000 plan to accept the debts of low-income developing countries that are experiencing debt problems serves as a second lesson. This strategy, supported by a secretary in the United Kingdom, later involved:
- civil society organizations and protesters in 40 states
- a petition signed by 21 million individuals
- institutions in both creditor and debtor locations.
Due to these work, 35 developing nations ‘ bills were eliminated. These payments, totaling about US$ 100 billion, were owed generally to bilateral and multilateral established lenders.
They also served as a demonstration of the social power that civil society organizations and institutions can produce when they work together, rich or poor.
They can make the world’s most powerful and well-off institutions and people agree to actions that benefit low-income nations and probably poor communities while also requiring them to make cheap sacrifices.
What conclusions may become drawn?
We don’t undervalue the US’s influence or the MAGA movement‘s willpower. Nonetheless, their power is not complete. As China and India acquire economic and political strength, their relative drop in US power limits it.
Additionally, there are now mechanisms for global cooperation, like the G20, where states can coordinate their actions and win defensive victories that benefit both people and the planet. However, the following may be necessary to achieve these successes:
First, the formation of military alliances that include says from both the Global South and the International North. If these says work together to achieve a set of constrained and shared goals, they can counteract Trump’s global vested interests.
Second, a unique form of public-private association where states and non-state actors agree to work together to accomplish a few specific shared goals.
In the late 1990s, neither state nor civil society organizations alone were able to overthrow the vested passions that opposed debt reduction. Collectively, they were able to sabotage effective bank interests and relieve bill for the poorest states.
Furthermore, this unique collaboration will only be possible if there is general agreement regarding both the diagnosis and the solution’s common form. This was the situation with the debt crisis in the 1990s.
For such creative activities, there are good prospects. For instance, some claims and non-state stars concur that international financial institutions must be improved and made more responsive to the requirements of those part states that actually use their services but lack the right to participate in their leadership.
Additionally, organizations must hold those who are impacted by their policies and practices responsible. They also concur that big corporations and financial organizations may be responsible for the environment and social issues as well as their fair share of taxes.
The earth must respond to Trump as soon as possible due to the urgency of the issues facing the world community. As the G20’s current chair, South Africa has a special responsibility to make sure that this year, along with its engagement groups, acts effectively and properly in terms of people and the planet.
Danny Bradlow is professor/senior studies brother, Centre for Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria
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