The western world only has itself to blame for what the US has become today!
As someone born and brought up from the Global South, I can attest to the fact that we have always viewed the US as an imperialist force. From Asia to Latin America, the US is commonly perceived as a neo-colonial power that acts like the global police. So, the news of Donald Trump’s aggressive posture to take over Greenland did not come to the global south as a surprise, as evident from the reactions from most nations. It seems, however, the western world, namely Canada, the European Union and its allies, did not anticipate this level of aggression from the US. It is as if these nations woke up one fine morning and found the US as a belligerent force. Is that really the case? I argue that the US was always an imperialist force. Canada and the western world are just finding out because the gun is now pointed at them. When Carney said, “We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false.”, at Davos, it became clear that the western world knew all along but was too busy gathering the fruits of US imperialism to place any kind of objections. So, when the menu changed, according to Carney, the west was put on the table.
Since the Second World War, the US was accepted as the global hegemon by Europe and its allies as a mean to counter the Soviet Union. As a result of this, NATO was born. The US was the perfect nation to lead the alliance as it had the biggest economy, the biggest military, and was protected by two oceans, which enabled the nation to focus on offence, unlike most other western nations. Hence the west followed the footsteps of the US everywhere, as its offensive capabilities could ensure security in Europe and other parts of the world. When America, in the name of fighting communism, intervened in places like Nicaragua, Panama, Vietnam or Cambodia, the allies either stayed quiet or followed the US into those conflicts. When the CIA overthrew governments in various parts of the world, which in many cases were democratically elected, the allies remained silent, empowering and emboldening America in the process.
Even after the fall of the Soviet Union, the allies continued to support the US in its adventurism. This time under the guise of democracy, weapons of mass destruction, or human rights. Moreover, America has always been selective in its approach to where its rules applied. Oppressive states and dictators that were allied with the West were often treated warmly. As a matter of fact, America is known to have used its powers to go as far as to protect these regimes. It also used, very effectively, its soft power to build a hegemonic discourse in its own favour worldwide. This included the establishment of the concept of the rules-based order where the rules favoured the strong, in other words, America. The western allies followed suit wherever it served their purpose. They were fine with the US doing their dirty work as long as they were under the economic and military security umbrella of Uncle Sam.
The United States of America has been the aggressor-in-chief of the world for the past 70-odd years. The pretext varied, but the performance was consistent. It was only a matter of time before America elected a leader who would direct this aggression towards friends and foes alike. Trump is not the issue here. He never was. It is the path that America was on, to remain the worlds hegemon, that brought forth a president like Trump. In a capitalistic society like the US, it was evident that a president would emerge who only believes in the acquisition of capital, regardless of its source. It comes as no surprise that he has identified capital in the midst of allies and is steadfast in “conquering” them. We are watching the dystopian effects of capital play out on a global stage.
Canada, Europe and the rest of the western world made bed with Frankenstein’s Monster. It must now face the consequences of it. There is no reason to believe Trump’s posturing will slow down anytime soon. In addition, it would also be foolish to believe normalcy will return after Trump’s presidency. There is no turning back from the path the US has taken, and it is unlikely that the US will make a course-correction. Moreover, the rupture Carney mentioned did not happen today. It happened decades ago. The west was merely a beneficiary of it. It must now go through a self-reflectional phase and review its relationship with the US, and the rest of the world. Carney’s speech may be fiery, but it will fall short if he fails to decuple with the US. Europe and the other western allies must take notes.
