The Footsteps Of Imperialism
Once, Mike Campbell, a character in Ernest Miller Hemingway‘s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises, was asked how he went bankrupt. He replied: “Two ways… Gradually and then suddenly.” One can use Campbell’s statement to explain the rise of Neo-imperialism, as well!
Everything was going on as usual even after the return of Donald John Trump to the White House on January 20, 2025. Different countries were maintaining their foreign relations as per the international law. However, a big change happened all of a sudden!
On February 24, 2022, Russia, a member of the UN Security Council (UNSC), violated the principles enshrined in the UN Charter and invaded neighbouring Ukraine. It helped the global community to realise how shaky the foundation of International Relations was. It may be noted that the foundation was based on three core principles: 1) Economic solidarity built through the international trading system and global economic organisations, 2) A collective security system built on the principle that every state is sovereign and 3) The Right to Ethnic Self-determination. The moment President Trump announced that the US would not support Ukraine anymore (on February 28, 2025), it became clear that the traditional policy of restoring the international order suffered a huge setback.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, Britain, the US and the erstwhile Soviet Union reached a consensus on the creation of an international organisation to ensure global peace and to develop mutual cooperation among countries based on the principle of equal sovereignty of all the nations. The global community failed to realise that the World Powers founded the UN to serve their vested interests. Britain, the US and the Soviet Union were well aware of the fact that no one could harm their own interests, if the world would follow the proposed policy. During the 1943 Tehran Conference, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin decided that their countries, along with China, would work together in order to maintain global peace. Britain was still representing the imperialist powers. Interestingly, the participation of China and the Soviet Union was required to deter Japan at the international stage. France joined the party during the 1945 Yalta Conference, as the Top Four wanted another European power to monitor the territories occupied by Nazi Germany.
In reality, the Soviet Union established dominance in Eastern Europe after the Yalta Conference, while Britain and the US took control of other parts of the continent. Such an arrangement was made to please Stalin who had helped the Allied Powers in their war against Japan. In other words, there was a flaw in this arrangement from the very beginning. However, the arrangement was largely successful in preventing the Great Powers from becoming reckless as it was based on the concept of sovereignty. Gradually, the global community acknowledged the Right to Ethnic Self-determination.
The scenario was like this until a few days ago. However, Trump changed the entire equation after becoming the US President for the second time. He has pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement and has started maintaining a distance from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The Trump Administration is also evaluating the US’ contributions to various international organisations. Washington DC has disturbed the international trade by raising tariffs on global steel and aluminium imports to 25%, prompting the European Union (EU) to impose retaliatory tariffs worth USD 28 billion on US industrial and agricultural goods. The US has further adopted a nationalist foreign policy in order to increase its economic influence and to expand territories in the Northern Hemisphere.
The most dramatic, as well as significant, event is the renewal of the Trump-Putin friendship. Hence, the US has made an attempt to establish peace in Ukraine by keeping Kiev away from the negotiating table, portraying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy as a dictator and refusing to send NATO forces to Kiev (as demanded by Russia). All these have stunned Europe, which has been fed up with the US’ dominance within NATO for decades. Now, the Europeans are worried about their own security.
The US has started sending a strong message (of dominance) to the global community by withdrawing itself from the world stage. President Trump has hinted that he is ready to take control of Greenland, Canada, the Panama Canal and the Gaza Strip as soon as possible. Basically, he has sent a message of Neo-imperialism. The entire world is now divided into various circles influenced by powerful leaders. The US is interested in increasing its influence not only in the Northern Hemisphere, but also in West Asia. President Trump has made it clear that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin will take care of Europe! The US would not interfere, if Putin acts according to his own plan in Ukraine and other parts of Europe.
Meanwhile, China, buoyed by Russia’s success in Ukraine, is eager to invade Taiwan. It may become a reality soon as President Trump is not so obsessed with Taiwan. India, too, should keep in mind that China has never recognised the McMahon Line, the de facto boundary between the two countries in the Eastern Himalayan region (established during the 1914 Simla Convention and named after chief British negotiator Sir Henry McMahon). Hence, Trump’s policy might encourage the Asian Giant to pose a serious security threat to India, as well!
The light is gradually fading away…
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Boundless Ocean Of Politics 