Some observers of British politics are rightly terrified at the prospect of Donald Trump being de- elected president of the United States in November.
The US is now showing symptoms of a failed politics. Its government and politics are typically disorganized and plagued with fraud.
A Trump success would increase fears of a new level of collapse into totalitarian dictatorship. However, a second Trump administration may not always apply a foreign scheme any more dangerous than what is standard for the US.
Since the start of the 21st centuries, the US has unleashed massive violence and instability on the international level. This is a feature of American foreign policy, regardless of who’s leader.
In 2001, in response to the 9/11 terrorist assaults, the US launched its “war on terror”. It invaded and occupied Afghanistan, therefore improperly invaded and occupied Iraq.
These activities caused the deaths of 4.6 million people over the next 20 years, destabilized the Middle East and caused large refugee journeys.
In 2007- 2008, the below- controlled US market caused a global financial crisis. The related political and economic aftermath continues to appeal.
In 2011, the US and its NATO friends intervened in Libya, collapsing that position, destabilizing north Africa and creating more refugees.
The US tried to strengthen its dominance in Europe by expanding NATO, despite Russia caution against this for years. This method played a part in the Russia- Ukraine conflict in 2014 and the whole- level Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
President Joe Biden’s leadership has been accused both of helping to inspire the battle in the hopes of forever weakening Russia and of resisting peace agreements.
Now, Ukraine appears to have on the verge of defeat and regional section, and US Congress seems set to reject it.
Fuelling world conflicts
The US has provoked tensions with China by reneging on American commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act ( 1979 ) to refrain from having official relations or an “alliance” with Taiwan. The US has even been accused of encouraging issue in the South China Sea as it has surrounded China with plenty of military foundations.
Israel’s abuse on Gaza is primarily the culmination of years of misplaced US foreign policy. Absolute American support of Israel has helped allow the country’s degeneration into what human rights organizations have called apartheid, as the state has built improper settlements on Arab land and fiercely suppressed Arab self- determination.
As Israel is accused of using hunger as a tool against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, quarter of them children, the US is totally involved in the Israeli battle crimes and for facilitating a fight that is further inflaming a critically important area.
Israel is of little to no strategic value to the US American politicians contend that its overwhelming support for Israel reflects moral and cultural ties, but it’s mainly driven by domestic politics.
That suggests that for domestic political reasons, the US has endangered global stability and supported atrocities.
Biden equals Trump on foreign policy
The Biden administration has continued many of the foreign policy initiatives it inherited from Trump.
Biden doubled down on Trump’s economic, technological and political war against China. He reinforced Trump’s trade protectionism and left the World Trade Organization hobbled.
He built on Trump’s” Abraham Accords”, an initiative to convince Arab states to normalize their relations with Israel without a resolution to the Palestine question. The Biden administration’s efforts to push normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel is considered part of Hamas’s motivation to attack Israel on October 7, 2023.
None of this inspires confidence in US “global leadership”. Biden and Trump share the same goal: permanent American global domination. They only differ in how to achieve this.
Trump believes the US can use economic and military might to coerce the world into acquiescing to American desires, regardless of the costs to everyone else and without the US assuming any obligations to others.
In office, Trump tried to present himself as “anti- war”. But his inclination to use of threats and violence reflected established American behavior.
Biden follows a more diplomatic strategy that tries to control international institutions and convince key states their interests are best served by accepting and cooperating with American domination. However, Biden readily resorts to economic and military coercion, too.
Reality check?
The silver lining to a Trump presidency is that it might force US allies to confront reality.
American allies convinced themselves that the Biden presidency was a return to normalcy, but they’re still accepting and supporting American global violence. They’re also wilfully ignoring the ongoing American political decay that could not be masked by Biden’s defeat of Trump in 2020.
Trump is a symptom of American political dysfunction, not a cause. Even if he loses in November, the Republican Party will continue its slide towards fascism and American politics will remain toxic.
A second Trump presidency may convince American allies that the US is unreliable and inconsistent. It may undermine the mostly Western coalition that has dominated and damaged the world so profoundly.
If Trump returns, traditional US allies may recognize that their interests lie in reconsidering their relations with the US.
For American neighbors Canada and Mexico, a Trump presidency is only bad news. They’ll have to somehow protect themselves from creeping US fascism. For the rest of the world, it may herald the start of a dynamic multipolar order.
Shaun Narine, Professor of International Relations and Political Science, St. Thomas University ( Canada )
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.