Opinion | In a multipolar world, the US must craft a better grand strategy beyond ‘shared values’

With the US withdrawal from world affairs in past years and growing weaponisation of the dollar, more countries are choosing to prioritise their own needs

Washington must take the cue and develop its own multi-alignment strategy to serve US interests in different parts of the world, particularly the Global South

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Published: 1:00am, 12 Apr 2023Updated: 2:26am, 12 Apr 2023

At the risk of sounding sardonic, the United States has had a bitter awakening over the past month to the multipolar realities of the new world order, shaped by strategic interests on arbitrary values. Interestingly, it was not just the actions of nations in the Global South that alerted Washington to this new reality, but the sudden shift in gear by its transatlantic partners, such as Germany and France, vis-à-vis China.

From the thawing of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia – mediated by China – and US Vice-President Kamala Harris’ Africa trip – where she found resistance among leaders to join the bandwagon on China – to French President Emmanuel Macron calling for reduced interdependence with the US while pushing for increasing trade with China, several developments have pulled the proverbial rug from under Washington’s feet.

The past two years have brought into question America’s hegemonic status in world affairs and its ability to influence the foreign and trade policies of nations, both friendly and not.

Analysts diverge on the origins of this descent, from the rise of populism in America to the US response to the Covid-19 pandemic – with a few scholars even dating it back to the 2008 global financial crisis.

But the descent has certainly accelerated over the past two years, and is only getting worse with America’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the bifurcation of the world into democracies and autocracies. This withdrawal and disconnect from world affairs has invited new global and regional players to take on leadership roles.

After damaging accusations that the US restricted vaccine raw material exports during the pandemic, countries in the Global South stepped up to fill the void. China, India and Russia – characterised as authoritarian by many Western analysts – delivered vaccines, oxygen cylinders, personal protection equipment and even sent medical teams before the Biden administration woke up to the importance of vaccine diplomacy.