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The View | Why world should agree to hand nominal leadership to Trump’s America
The US simply cannot afford to sustain its dominance so there’s no real danger, but pandering to Trump’s vanity could have its rewards
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This is the time for making New Year’s resolutions, but preferably only if these are well-intentioned. This cannot be said of US president-elect Donald Trump’s determination, expressed as he prepares to enter office in 2025, to ensure “peace through strength” because that implies the use of US force in a new iteration of Pax Americana.
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A US-enforced global order is not where the world is at now. Primus inter pares, or first among equals, it may be, but only in the context of an order which respects the legitimacy of other ideologies to arrive at a viable form of modus vivendi, or living together.
Trump is unlikely to be the first to propose such a mutually respectful alliance among world leaders. It is incumbent upon leaders of the Group of 7 gathering of advanced nations – or preferably those of the Group of 20, which also includes emerging nations – to do so. Can one of them show sufficient statesmanship and true leadership to propose a joint alliance of world leaders? Someone has to take the lead, and we can count out the incoming occupant of the White House in this regard.
How can those leaders persuade people driven by the “Make America Great Again” mindset – someone possessed of the notion of American exceptionalism and superiority – to accept anything less than the idea of world domination? By appealing to their vanity and convincing them that they will accept their nominal leadership in the context of a form of constitutional monarchy.
Why should other G7 or G20 leaders accept the idea of existing under even the nominal leadership of the United States when their own countries and cultures date back much further than that of a former British colony?
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Asians are more pragmatic by nature compared to Westerners and take a longer-term view of life. A Pax Americana cannot be expected to last any longer than, or maybe not as long, the Pax Britannica – a period of relative peace in Europe which lasted from 1815 to 1914. This was the time when the British Empire was the world’s dominant power and Britain adopted the role of a global police force.
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