(Disclaimer: La Tonique Media LLC does not represent any political ideology. While we do not espouse any political beliefs, we do seek to provide a balance perspective by incorporating voices from both sides of the political spectrum.)

By JTTC

The U.S. is going through a period of immense domestic turmoil. Long standing issues concerning a myriad of issues from race to economic policy have continued to divide Americans more than they have been since the Vietnam War, possibly even the Civil War. If we were a smaller or weaker country, this period of disunity could be used to topple our constitutional republic. Luckily, the U.S. has enjoyed a period of political supremacy since the fall of the Soviet Union. Often referred to as American hegemony by political scientists, it is the notion that while the U.S. is not the true ruler of the world, but it does enjoy the position of being first amongst its peers. Because of this, what happens to the U.S. has a significant impact on the rest of the world. As Americans it’s easy for us to focus inward on our domestic political divisions. This is only exacerbated by insistence to spin any issue into a win or a loss for one side or the other. However, the nations of the wider world do not care about our domestic political optics, they care about what we can do and what we cannot. Over the last few years, the international power the U.S. wields has significantly diminished. While not immediately dire, if a change is not made to more effectively tend to international affairs, then the U.S. will lose its privileged position.   

Whether we like it or not, we as a nation are part of the international political system. Not only are we part of that system, we are an integral part of it. We hold one of the five permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council, we are a leader of NATO, and we account for almost a quarter of the world economy. Furthermore, the neglection of our role as a world leader has emboldened hostile foreign nations. This has taken the form of significant hostile actions enacted by our main international competitors in Russia and China. In the sea, China continues to fortify an exert military control over vast swathes of the South China Sea. This is an area that sees over $3 trillion in international trade every year, which includes around 40% of the world’s liquefied natural gas trade. On land Russia has managed to annex and keep the Crimean Peninsula, which originally was the territory of a US military ally and NATO member Ukraine. These nations have not just taken brazen hostile military actions against countries that are allegedly under our protection but have also worked to covertly undermine other American interests. These acts are pervasive whether it be the suppression of fair elections in Honk Kong, the propping up of a brutal dictatorship in Syria and even the targeted interference of our own domestic elections. Unfortunately, these actions are not the only way that our lack of leadership has undermined US foreign power. 

A lack of effective leadership has not only made us more vulnerable to major foreign nations, but to smaller rogue states as well. Within the last five years rogue nations like North Korea and Iran have grown considerably more dangerous. Since 1994 North Korean has started, then suspended, then restarted their nuclear program regularly using peace talks as a PR stunt to continue pursuing its nuclear ambitions while continuing to evade international sanctions. Five years ago North Korea had only two nuclear tests in its last five years. Today North Korea possesses not only thermonuclear technology but the ballistic weaponry capable to strike US territory from Guam to Manhattan. With Iran the downturn has been recent and sharp. By the end of 2015 Iran had agreed to an international accord to give up its abilities to produce nuclear armaments in exchange for relief from the economic sanctions leveled at it by the U.S. and its allies. Today this accord is in tatters allegedly because of personal spite for the former US President by the sitting US President. As a result Iran has continued with its slow withdrawal of compliance with this accord, stockpiled well over one thousand kilograms of enriched uranium and expanded its ballistic missile program. Other less nuclear armed rogue states like Syria have taken to military confrontations with US allies. While our allies are picking up some of the slack for now, our relations with them are deteriorating as well.

Without effective leadership the task of dealing with many international threats has fallen to our allies. Despite this the U.S. has worked almost exceptionally hard to alienate our close allies with few exceptions. Polls amongst the citizens of close military allies like Germany have shown that these allies no longer feel as militarily reliant on us as they have been in the past, with some leaders expressing this sentiment openly. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the U.S. has been at harsh odds with one of its longest and closest allies, Canada. This has ranged from attempting to halt the exportation of N95 respirator masks by the U.S. to the closing of borders by Canada. Aside from conflicts with historically close allies we have also been undermined by some of our more tenuous partners. As it is now allegedly allied nations like Saudi Arabia feel comfortable enough to kidnap, assassinate and dismember a US resident, an individual allegedly under US protection. At a time when we as a nation have lost more people to a pandemic than we have in any other war outside of WWII and the Civil War, we should not seek to sour relations with close friends. However, we cannot allow actors capable of flattering our leaders to murder individuals under our protection or dictate our foreign policy. 

Whether we like it or not the U.S. is intrinsically tied to the international politics of the wider world. Because of this our standing as a nation state in the international system is essential to our prosperity as a nation. As Americans we may need time to sort out the myriad of domestic issues that we face. However, the world keeps on spinning and the rest of nations on it will not sit on their hands and wait for us to figure our issues out. These nations are not concerned with what is popular with the constituents of our domestic political parties. They are concerned with our actual capabilities, effectiveness and how it impacts their interests. Regardless of one’s domestic political views the reality is in that by 2020 the U.S. is in a situation where hostile foreign powers can militarily occupy internationally contested territory, invade and annex US allies, openly develop and declare hostile nuclear armaments capable of striking major US metropolitan centers. A situation where decades old allies have started to turn their backs and other allegedly friendly nations openly murder individuals under our protection. This is certainly not the fault of any one or two presidential administrations. However, the nation needs competent foreign policy leadership. It’s time for our nation to stop talking about how great we are and start proving it. Because for now the world is not impressed at our greatness, they are laughing at us. Not a comedic laugh, but a nervous laugh. One that says that they’re afraid, afraid we have taken on too much responsibility while not possessing the ability to manage it.

JTTC is a political writer for La Tonique.