Trump's neo-colonialism

Global order at risk as Trump’s foreign policy revives memories of failed US interventions

President Donald Trump is on the move with an expansionist foreign policy that is likely to see more sovereign states come under American tutelage. The gunboat diplomacy premised on the 1823 Monroe Doctrine is emerging as the New World Order, as Washington seems to be unconcerned about European and NATO reaction to its bullseye approach of annexing allies and adversaries. So daredevil is the strategy that he has expressed his open-and-shut intentions of annexing Greenland for "strategic depth", and extending his threat dimension even to Colombia, Cuba and Iran.

For many, it is a déjà vu as Trump's predecessors had undertaken similar expeditions in the Middle East and Vietnam at the altar of ruining American leadership in global affairs. The contention that Washington will govern Caracas and ensure that the political leadership in Venezuela toes its line of action is a blatant episode of neo-colonialism, and is likely to plunge the world into a renewed module of intricate confrontations.

The resistance emerging from Latin American states such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay will be tough to handle, and will set the ball rolling for anti-American sentiments. Likewise, the snub that the US has received from allies in Europe, especially Spain, Britain, Germany and Denmark, will seal the fate of Washington's influence in the heartland, providing renewed impetus to Russia and China to meddle in Ukraine and Taiwan, respectively.

This expansive power encroachment of the US is meant for natural resources, coming on the heels of the National Security Strategy 2025 that painted a somewhat different picture of reconciliation on the synopsis of 'no more wars'. Either the NSS was a faux pas, or the plan of action underway is a theatrical gimmick for reasons best known to the impulsive incumbent at the White House.

The UN and the world at large have a responsibility to ensure that the Westphalian state-system remains intact, and this war-mongering does not come to plunge it into an axis of war. Trump would be better advised to deal with his neighbours in harmony rather than seeing them as an existential threat.