Is Donald Trump doing the world a favour by isolating the United States?

United States President Donald Trump's tariffs against most of the world tanked stock markets, disrupted the U.S. bond market and destabilized the global economy.

- BY SHAUN NARINE

Trump has economically and politically threatened American allies, shattering the unity of the western world. But Trump's chaos may have inadvertently produced an opportunity to create a better world.

Some western commentators argue that the U.S. has been a benevolent superpower.

That may have been true for a small group of mostly western states that have benefitted from American domination. But much of the Global South was victimized by American military, economic and political interventions.

Losing dominance?

The West could be in the midst of losing its dominant position in the global order. This is probably inevitable, but it may not be the tragedy some western commentators assume it to be.

In most of the world, there is a desire for a more equitable world order that doesn't feature the moral, racial and cultural double standards of the western-dominated system. A world where American and western power is limited and contained could not only end up being more peaceful but, over time, more prosperous.

Without the co-operation of the allies alienated by Trump, it may be harder for the U.S. to initiate conflict around the world as it often has since the end of the Cold War.

In a recent Foreign Affairs article, American political scientist Stacie Goddard argues the emerging multipolar, post-American world will be one in which great powers — primarily the U.S., Russia and China — will divide the globe into "spheres of influence."

The U.S. is seeking to maintain disproportionate power in Asia. Closer to home, neighbours of the U.S. have reason to fear American expansionism.