The American president’s unpredictable behaviour has injected uncertainty into world politics and economy, as well as the existing world order.
Love him or hate him, but Donald Trump is chang-ing the world order. Three contrasting spectacles in three countries in three days underline the stunning tectonic shifts. For the first time, an American president signs a denuclearisation agreement with the North Korean dictatorturned “Chairman” Kim Jong-un in Singapore, a historic deal that could dissolve the last frontier of the Cold War. Equally historic was the agreement of the Group of Seven industrialised nations that an American president did not sign—also for the first time. In stark contrast to the G7 disarray in Canada was the show of unity in China by the “Xi 8” or the Shanghai Summit led by Xi Jinping. Do these events symbolise a declining west, a rising east, a new world disorder characterised by U-turns and abuse?
“There is a special place in hell for any foreign leader who engages in bad faith diplomacy with President Trump and then tries to stab him in the back,” said Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro to Fox News. Just six months ago, we would have assumed Navarro was talking about Kim. Trump’s condemnation of America’s closest ally, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling him “meek, mild and dishonest” was unprecedented. This was followed by revok ing support for the G7 communique, which had met all his demands for reducing subsidies and trade barriers. “It is sobering and a little depressing,” responded German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who after Trump’s election, had predicted that America was henceforth undependable, and that Europe would have to fend for itself. Now it is “Europe United” vs “America First”.
This story is from the June 24, 2018 edition of THE WEEK.
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This story is from the June 24, 2018 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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