By Atilio Borón on September 29, 2021
Until a few years ago we critics of U.S. imperialism were traditionally ignored by experts, academics and the media. We were accused of being “ideological” and disrespectful of the realities of the international scene, or, in some cases, marginalized; accused of being just vociferous “anti-American” pamphleteers who did not deserve any consideration either in the public opinion or in the academic world. However, this is no longer the case.
Today, the literature examining the many dimensions of America’s decline is immense and growing by the hour. Surprisingly, many on the left still cling to the old conception of the United States as an omnipotent and invincible power, which is now a stale snapshot of the past.
For the purpose of exemplifying the true state of the U.S. empire I will briefly review the article Richard Haass published earlier this year (January 11, 2021) in Foreign Affairs. Haass is far from being an obscure professor of International Relations or a staunch leftist, lacking a mass audience.
On the contrary, he is a highly influential thinker in the U.S. foreign policy “establishment.” For nearly two decades he has chaired the most important foreign policy think tank in the United States: the Council on Foreign Affairs. Previously, as a consummate diplomat, he was Director of Policy Planning at the State Department and a close collaborator of George W. Bush’s Secretary of State, Colin Powell. Haass is not only a refined academic – he holds a Ph.D. from Oxford; he was also a strong supporter of the infamous “war on terror” launched by the White House after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
In fact, the article we now comment on was published in America’s leading foreign policy journal. The title of his contribution, “Present in Destruction,” sums up quite well his pessimistic view of U.S. foreign policy and the diminished role of the United States in the current international arena.
His article was written under the dismal impressions left by the events of January 6 on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Haass rightly points out that the consequences and implications of the assault by extreme right-wing gangs on the precincts of popular sovereignty in the United States would transcend the domestic sphere.
It was a devastating blow to the exemplary image of the United States as the “natural leader” of the so-called free world and the model to be emulated by all countries struggling to emancipate themselves from the autocracies that have oppressed them for centuries. This configuration of domestic and international circumstances signals, according to our author, the advent of a “post-American world, one that is no longer defined by the primacy of the United States.”
A negative situation, he adds, that “comes sooner than generally expected, not so much because of the inevitable rise of other powers, but because of what the United States has done to itself.” The end result of this series of events, among which the disastrous Donald Trump Administration plays a crucial role, is a “marked decline in U.S. influence, to the benefit of China, Iran and Russia.”
Haass attempts to calm the anxiety that his opinion might produce among his fellow citizens by assuring them that even in the “post-American world, U.S. power and influence remain substantial.” But he subtly qualifies his statement by asserting that the traditional belief in “American exceptionalism” should definitely be shelved.
After the Capitol invasion, a decisive component of America’s “soft power” was lost: the idea that American democracy is a shining (and eternal) example for the rest of the world. The country now has to face, with diminished power resources, “great power rivalry” (China and Russia, before anyone else) and also deal with complex global challenges such as climate change, infectious diseases and future pandemics, large migrations of people (displaced by wars, droughts, floods, poverty, political crises), nuclear proliferation, terrorism and cyber threats.
The message of the article is clear and simple: “a ‘post-American’ world will not be dominated by the United States, but that does not mean it has to be led by China or defined by chaos”. China emerges as the great enemy, no longer just an economic competitor. The New Cold War is here and U.S. diplomats will spare no effort to convince – or blackmail – the leaders of many nations by warning them that the choice is between the United States or China. And, that if they don’t make the right decision, chaos will surely reign. Hopefully they will not succeed in that campaign.
Source: Cubadebate, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English