American diplomacy is suffering from a “crisis of confidence” in its international relations
Fareed Zakaria
While I was watching the recent general elections in Turkey, I was shocked when I heard one of the country’s top officials, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, speaking to a crowd from the balcony, gleefully saying that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had promised to “get everyone who causes trouble to Turkey.” And this includes, of course, the US military.
Earlier, Soylu announced that those who “follow a pro-American approach will be considered traitors,” if we take into account that Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which has US bases in the country for nearly 70 years.
Anti-Western rhetoric
Erdogan often uses harsh, anti-Western rhetoric. Erdogan may be one of the most extreme leaders in such a situation, but he is not alone. As many commentators have noted, most of the world’s population is not aligned with the West in its struggle against the war in Ukraine. And the war itself only highlighted a broader phenomenon: many of the largest and most powerful countries in the developing world are increasingly hostile to the West and to America.
Lula da Silva criticizes America
When Brazil elected Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to the presidency last October, many breathed a sigh of relief that the mercurial populist leader, Jair Bolsonaro, had been replaced by a familiar centre-left classic. But in his few months in office, Lula has preferred to lash out at the West, venting his anger at the dominance of the dollar, and claiming that Russia and Ukraine are equally to blame for the outbreak and continuation of the war.
A few days ago, Lula hosted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whose brutal rule has prompted millions to flee his country. Lula praised the dictator and criticized Washington for denying Maduro’s legitimacy and imposing sanctions on his regime.
A trend towards Russia and China
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has a reputation as a pragmatic, business-friendly moderate with strong ties to the West, but under him South Africa has drifted closer to the Russian and Chinese orbit. The country has refused to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine, hosted Russian and Chinese navies for joint exercises, and is now accused by the United States of supplying weapons to Russia, allegations South Africa has denied.
Delhi will not support Washington in its crisis with Beijing
Then there is India, which has made it clear since the beginning of the Ukraine war that it does not intend to stand against Russia, which is still the main supplier of advanced weapons to the Indian army. India’s statements about wanting to maintain a balance in its relations between the West and Russia (and even China) have been so numerous that one of the most respected scholars of US-India relations, Ashley G. Tellis, wrote an article warning Washington against opposing it, and saying that Washington should not assume New Delhi will stand by it in any future crisis with Beijing.
Follower gets up
what is going on? Why does the United States have so many problems with many of the world’s largest developing countries? These attitudes are rooted in a phenomenon she described in 2008 as “the rise of the rest.” Over the past two decades, a major shift has taken place in the international system. Once densely populated but poor countries have moved from the periphery to center stage, and “emerging markets,” which once accounted for a tiny share of the global economy, now make up half of the pie. That is why we should say that the rest of the countries of the world have risen.
As these states have become economically powerful, politically stable, and culturally proud, they have also become more nationalistic, and their nationalism is often defined in contrast to the states that dominate the international system; Which West. Many of these nations were colonized by Western nations, and so they retain an instinctive aversion to Western efforts to lock them into an alliance or grouping.
do not believe
Reflecting on this phenomenon in the context of the Ukraine war, Russian expert Fiona Hill points out that the other factor in this distrust is that these countries do not believe the United States when they hear that it is speaking in favor of a rules-based international order. They see Washington as full of “arrogance and hypocrisy,” Hill says. America applies the rules to others but breaks them in its many military interventions and unilateral sanctions, and it urges countries to open up to trade, but it violates these principles when it chooses to do so.
ups and downs
This is the new world. It is not marked by the decline of America “but by the rise of other people” (as I wrote in 2008). Once pawns on a chessboard, many nations are now active players on the globe, making their own moves, often based on self-interest. After that, she will not be persuaded or flattered easily, but she must be persuaded by the policies that are practiced at home, and not only by preaching abroad, and navigating this international arena represents the greatest challenge for American diplomacy, so is Washington up to the task?
American journalist and author
Fareed Zakaria:
• “Over the past two decades, there has been a major shift in the international system. Once densely populated but poor countries have moved from the periphery to center stage, and ’emerging markets’, which once accounted for a tiny share of the global economy, now make up half of the whole pie.”
• “As developing countries become economically strong, politically stable, and culturally proud, they also become more nationalistic, and they retain an instinctive aversion to Western efforts to lock them into an alliance or grouping.”
• “America applies the rules to others, but it breaks them in its many military interventions and unilateral sanctions, and it urges countries to open up to trade, but it violates these principles when it chooses to do so.”