Donald Trump’s first name gave the world a style of deliberately divisive and unwanted participation in other countries ‘ domestic affairs, with examples ranging from Britain’s throes of Brexit to North Korea, where the 45th US senator attempted to build a personal cope with Kim Jung Un.
US tech businessman Elon Musk, but, has taken this to a whole new level. Musso is reportedly ready to interfere in other countries ‘ matters by using his private sway to control certain decision-makers, institutions, and corporations, or by attacking them on social media to reshape them in the way he wants them to remain.
In contrast, Trump is more pragmatic and could do a deal with any nation provided they fall in line with his” America first” mission, and give him what he demands.
In the past six months, many countries have been subjected to Musk’s “personal foreign policy” initiatives. Until fairly recently, there were two schools of thought on his interest in global politics.
Initially, Musk was merely” a mischievous antagonist” who simply loved to shock and appeared largely driven by social media.
But that has given way to nervousness in the face of Musk’s increasingly , deliberate attempts , at destabilizing governments, including his persistent stoking of , populist support , for far-right parties and potentially funding , populist allies.
In his final address to the country before he leaves, current president Joe Biden warns of the growing power of the ultra-wealthy.
Musk wields enormous global influence not merely because of his wealth, connections, and fleet of companies. But arguably because he is a self-proclaimed populist, with increasingly far-right political preferences. As of January 20, he will also be a significant member of the Trump administration.
His political toolbox includes supporting or ( more usually ) strafing individual politicians ( for instance, UK prime minister Keir Starmer, or German chancellor Olaf Scholz ). Additionally, he backs populist political parties like Reform UK and AfD in Germany. He criticizes judges and broadcasting companies in places where he doesn’t reside, as well as government officials in other nations.
Musk’s political activity appears to be primarily intended to appeal to populist groups, ideologies, and causes, as well as actively supporting centrist parties in other nations. Musk’s political intrusion, however, has expanded of late, with an apparent eye on election results.
Examples include nations where elections are still in the making ( Canada by criticizing prime minister Justin Trudeau ) or much sooner ( Germany ), giving him the opportunity to criticize the incumbents while supporting his or her preferred opposition party.
Musk’s attention is extensive, from attacks on Starmer, to support for Italy’s Georgia Meloni and Argentina’s Javier Milei.
Whose foreign policy?
The concern for those working in foreign policy is that Musk may be hired in the name of the US government to continue his interference and destabilization. He has proven to be effective as Trump’s choice as his disruptor of choice.
The difficulty will then be determining the precise beginning and end of Musk’s individual foreign policy.
Musk positions himself as the global defender of free speech, in order to soften the ground for Trump’s preferred combination of far-right populism and protectionist, tariff-driven trade approaches.
Musk’s method of operation is to persuade leaders and national communities to “rally against rules,” giving far-right parties and industry leaders who have seen an opportunity to deregulate key sectors a chance to gain.
Mark Zuckerberg, the social media giant’s CEO, recently announced a significant change to its content moderation policy in the US. The European Parliament’s far-right grouping Patriots for Europe supported Musk’s call for greater media freedom.
Both of these conveniently coincided with Musk’s calling of EU regulation and its “institutionalized censorship,” opening the door for Trump to start any number of conflict.
The common sense buffer zones, such as former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg’s ( currently ) head of policy for Meta, have been eliminated. Zuckerberg’s thinking now echoes that of companies, regulators and politicians who agree with Trump.
As a solo global disruptor and Trump’s preferred frontman, Musk represents both indirect and direct state interference. Sitting at Trump’s right hand and – as of January 20– heading the new US Department of Government Efficiency ( Doge ) – means it is unclear who is acting, and in whose interests and crucially, who benefits.
Are nations more likely to advise Musk and Trump to step down because they are aware of the possibility of a torrent of ire with very real consequences in terms of trade disputes? This is certainly the approach of many, including Marietje Schaake, former European parliamentarian, arguing that:” Musk must be seen as representing the US president when he bets against the leadership of key European nations, allies until now”.
Or are nations just as likely to ignore Musk, putting a bet on the widespread performative bullying inherited from Trump can be largely ignored?
Responding to interference
Only a few have the power to influence global politics, and the EU is one such example. Many may push back. The European Commission made it clear that it was closely watching Elon Musk, the party’s leader, Alice Weidel, as they recently watched X live in Germany.
This was done to determine whether X itself gives the AfD an unfair advantage in the public, largely as a result of the manipulation of algorithms designed to suppress opposing non-AfD voices ahead of February’s German election.
The European Commission – in its role as enforcer of Europe’s Digital Services Act ( DSA ) – could impose high fines, or blocks. However, to do so requires strong political will and unmistakable proof that X is putting more pressure on the public by promoting hate speech.
What effects will Musk’s rollercoaster ride have on world affairs? Deregulation is likely to be the norm today. Maga has long pushed for a” small state/big companies” approach and this is likely to continue under Musk’s leadership of Doge.
For those who don’t understand Musk’s role, there might be issues in the future. Potential candidates for secretary of state Marco Rubio and US foreign policy officials in Washington ( and their counterparts all over the world ) could be involved, all of whom may be confused by the nature of the agenda being pursued.
However, any new government would be a poor start with a slew of irate international allies. Violating the “norms of responsible conduct”– however flippantly Musk regards them – will not ultimately assist in Trump himself being effective, but rather just more disruptive.
Amelia Hadfield is head of department of politics, University of Surrey
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.