Did you ever hear about the gangster Don Trump? He made the Canadians an offer they could only refuse.
Trade talks between the U.S. and Canada broke down recently, with PM Mark Carney stating that this resulted from American demands that would have undermined Canadian sovereignty.
These last-minute demands were each individually intolerable but totalled together were absolutely farcical. The Americans demanded (amongst many other things) that: Canada change their laws regarding the promotion of the French language, restrictions on Canada’s ability to make trade deals with other countries, and U.S. exclusive access to some Canadian minerals. These demands were tantamount to vassalisation.
Trump’s administration demonstrates through its actions contempt for most states in the world, even those who have historically been America’s closest allies. Trump has always possessed an attitude that couples a callous disregard for others and a belief in the total supremacy of what he deems to be his and America’s interests, but it is only with this administration that his strikes have been so erratic and so close to home. Trump’s ADHD diplomacy shifts objectives with his attention-span, with him spending a few weeks earlier this year transfixed by dreams of turning Canada into the 51st state, before losing interest and moving onto Greenland.
Successful geopolitical manoeuvring requires an ability to plan ahead, and it is very hard to plan around an actor as erratic as the United States. To stake your country’s security around an alliance with such a state is myopic. It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.
This unpredictability is not new to many in the world, but it certainly is to the Global North. America has a long and storied history of backing and then abandoning actors all across the world; from their support of Saddam Hussein to the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, America has never had permanent allies, only permanent interests.
However, what makes this new administration different is how short-term their interests appear to be. Whilst in the past you may not have been assured of the Americans supporting you in perpetuity, you would generally know that your abandonment would soon follow your usefulness to them running dry, something the West largely saw as inconceivable.
This has massively changed with this Trump term, a mayfly demonstrates more future planning than this administration does concerning its foreign policy, and so your historic alliance and long-term utility to American power is entirely irrelevant compared to the short-term gains they think they could achieve by screwing you over. It’s the thought process of a junkie, a constant quest for cheap and quick hits with no thought as to tomorrow.
America can no longer be trusted, not the Republicans, but America. Even if the Democrats return in the next election, as they are likely to do so, there is nothing to stop the American electorate from choosing another lunatic to lead their country. One cannot plan a foreign policy around the incomprehensible, fickle, idiotic, and culture-war fuelled whims of a few thousand swing voters dotted around Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada. Therefore, one cannot plan a foreign policy around America.
“Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends the G7 Summit in Canada” by UK Prime Minister is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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Planning Around America – States Cannot Expect the “Grown Ups” to Return
Did you ever hear about the gangster Don Trump? He made the Canadians an offer they could only refuse.
Trade talks between the U.S. and Canada broke down recently, with PM Mark Carney stating that this resulted from American demands that would have undermined Canadian sovereignty.
These last-minute demands were each individually intolerable but totalled together were absolutely farcical. The Americans demanded (amongst many other things) that: Canada change their laws regarding the promotion of the French language, restrictions on Canada’s ability to make trade deals with other countries, and U.S. exclusive access to some Canadian minerals. These demands were tantamount to vassalisation.
Trump’s administration demonstrates through its actions contempt for most states in the world, even those who have historically been America’s closest allies. Trump has always possessed an attitude that couples a callous disregard for others and a belief in the total supremacy of what he deems to be his and America’s interests, but it is only with this administration that his strikes have been so erratic and so close to home. Trump’s ADHD diplomacy shifts objectives with his attention-span, with him spending a few weeks earlier this year transfixed by dreams of turning Canada into the 51st state, before losing interest and moving onto Greenland.
Successful geopolitical manoeuvring requires an ability to plan ahead, and it is very hard to plan around an actor as erratic as the United States. To stake your country’s security around an alliance with such a state is myopic. It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.
This unpredictability is not new to many in the world, but it certainly is to the Global North. America has a long and storied history of backing and then abandoning actors all across the world; from their support of Saddam Hussein to the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, America has never had permanent allies, only permanent interests.
However, what makes this new administration different is how short-term their interests appear to be. Whilst in the past you may not have been assured of the Americans supporting you in perpetuity, you would generally know that your abandonment would soon follow your usefulness to them running dry, something the West largely saw as inconceivable.
This has massively changed with this Trump term, a mayfly demonstrates more future planning than this administration does concerning its foreign policy, and so your historic alliance and long-term utility to American power is entirely irrelevant compared to the short-term gains they think they could achieve by screwing you over. It’s the thought process of a junkie, a constant quest for cheap and quick hits with no thought as to tomorrow.
America can no longer be trusted, not the Republicans, but America. Even if the Democrats return in the next election, as they are likely to do so, there is nothing to stop the American electorate from choosing another lunatic to lead their country. One cannot plan a foreign policy around the incomprehensible, fickle, idiotic, and culture-war fuelled whims of a few thousand swing voters dotted around Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada. Therefore, one cannot plan a foreign policy around America.
“Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends the G7 Summit in Canada” by UK Prime Minister is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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