The West’s multifaceted crisis is undermining the established norms of power, alliances and economic systems. This has been exposed and made worse by the United States and Israel’s war against Iran and all its unintended consequences.
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The West in crisis
Frieda Park
The West’s multifaceted crisis is undermining the established norms of power, alliances and economic systems. This has been exposed and made worse by the United States and Israel’s war against Iran and all its unintended consequences.
No one can predict the longer term implications of Donald Trump’s miscalculation over launching the war or whether it will mark a decisive point in US decline. However the trends marking that decline, discernible in recent years, have certainly been exacerbated and there are lessons for countries and peoples across the globe.
Significant considerations include:
1) US imperialism threatens the whole world.
2) The US resort to war and coercion to try to maintain its global hegemony has its limits when confronting powerful and determined countries such as Iran.
3) The destabilisation of the Gulf region raises yet more uncertainty for US allies about the reliability of their partner and erstwhile protector, including beyond the Gulf.
4) The brutality of Israel and the US is further exposed and their disregard for the region and its peoples will make alliances with other states there harder.
5) The veneer of international legal norms and organisations has been stripped away and the naked power of imperialism has been exposed.
6) The world economy is being affected negatively by the US war, exposing the destructive role of US imperialism.
7) Yet NATO countries remain trapped in alliance with the US and are committing to greater arms spending and reliance on the US for energy supplies. This must lead to more disquiet among the populations of those countries who are experiencing worsening services and higher bills caused by the war and following US diktats.
8) Divisions between the Western countries are being exacerbated as they seek to find a way forward which promotes their interests.
9) Although affected by higher prices and denial of oil supplies by the US action, overall the war gives China more space to continue to use its resources to develop its economy as the US is preoccupied with war.
10) It enhances China’s claim to be amore reliable and positive partner than the United States.
11) It will encourage further trading in non-dollar currencies and trade agreements which strengthen economic cooperation in the global south as more countries seek to move away from reliance on the United States.
This is certainly not the end of the US which remains the most powerful military and economic state on the planet, but its war of aggression against Iran has exposed its weaknesses and relative decline. The question remains as to how it will confront the rise of China and whether it learn any lessons from the Iran experience. So far that has not proven to be the case as it doubles down on threats, sanctions and war, nor does it seem to want to acknowledge to wider, long-term implications of this strategy. The United States, armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons, therefore remains a major threat to humanity.