![]() The third assumption therefore is also flawed. Countries like India, Turkey, South Africa, and Brazil see themselves as sovereign powers with the right to build their own relationships, not as swing states obliged to placate other powers. But most countries reject this idea and instead see the world moving toward deeper fragmentation and multipolarity. US President Joe Biden has committed himself to the narrative that the world is divided between democracies and autocracies, implying that those in the middle should be persuaded or pressured to choose sides. The second assumption is even more problematic. Moreover, in some areas, Western countries have moved from revising global institutions to abandoning them altogether in favor of what is often portrayed as a new “rich man’s club” built on novel concepts like “ friend-shoring.” Many leaders around the world enjoy highlighting such hypocrisy, compounding the West’s legitimacy crisis. The West may not be using military force today, but it has not held back from using economic instruments to its advantage – from sanctioning anyone who trades with Iran and Russia to proposing taxes on developing countries through carbon border adjustment mechanisms. ![]() These observers would point out that the first hammer blows came with the Western-led intervention in Kosovo and invasion of Iraq, not with the subsequent Russian invasions of Georgia and Ukraine. While Russia and China obviously have been challenging the post-1945 international order, many across the so-called Global South would say that Westerners, too, have routinely revised international rules and institutions to suit their own interests. But each of these claims is problematic and speaks to a misunderstanding of the challenge China represents.įirst, the idea that Western governments are preserving the rules-based order is not persuasive to many around the world, considering that Western governments themselves have already abandoned it on many fronts. Specifically, Western leaders believe that they are defending the rules-based order from revisionist powers such as Russia and China that the world is polarizing between rule-bound democracies and aggressive autocracies, with swing states in the middle and that we need better narratives to convince others that Russia’s attack on Ukraine has significant implications for them. As The Economist put it, these events have opened a window onto the “world according to Xi.” Meanwhile, Xi’s travels have incited much Sturm und Drang across the West, which itself may be heading toward a strategic dead end.Īfter all, the emerging consensus among Western policymakers follows from several assumptions that may lead them to act in counterproductive ways. Hot on the heels of the Chinese-brokered restoration of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, he used his recent visit to Moscow not only to shore up relations with his close (junior) partner, Vladimir Putin, but also to present a “peace plan” for the war in Ukraine. ![]() BERLIN – By all accounts, Chinese President Xi Jinping has had a successful few weeks. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |