United States President Donald Trump is bent on proving that history repeats itself. The perception that his second term is all about making America greater than ever before is understandable. However, just like a coin’s value can only be determined by looking at the other side, a different perspective shows that the policies being pursued are less about strength and more about making America go it alone.
During the past four weeks or so, Trump’s ‘America First’ catchphrase has cost more than 10,000 jobs within the US and further detached the country from international welfare programs. Humanitarian aid stands halted, decades-old alliances are on the verge of collapse, tariffs on ‘competitors’ have been imposed, while a rigorous, unprecedented crackdown on migrants has been initiated. The world is made to believe that these steps are aimed at saving the US from ‘alien’ influence. However, this isolation dressed up as strength is likely to drag many communities south.
History tells us that most leaders opting for isolation and protectionism eventually end up weakening their countries and set the stage for bigger conflicts down the road. Like most leaders of the past, Trump appears to be trying to dominate the world, by force or by fear. His modus operandi starkly resembles that of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane. Both Mongol warlords were isolationist in their early years and later returned with aggressive, expansionist policies. They also forced submission instead of cooperation. Trump is apparently using the same playbook. However, unlike them, he is not leading armies into battles but engaging in economic warfare to weaken the rivals financially.
All recent developments in pursuance of the new playbook, Project 20205, signal America’s shift toward economic dominance rather than cooperation. But the thing is that economic wars do not just weaken rivals, but also destabilize the empires waging them. Just like the Mongols, the British Empire and the Soviet Union collapsed after overreaching economically or isolating themselves, the US might stumble due to its own unsustainable economic expansionism and increasing disconnection from its global partners. The more Trump pushes, the more resistance he creates and the more backlash he receives. This is where this strategy could backfire.
Trump is creating cracks in international trust, which may not be fixable with a simple policy shift later. As for the moment, his support remains strong, with ultra-right wing cheering at the sight of nationalist policies being forwarded
America’s strength has always come from alliances, whether in the form of unification or partnership. Trump is cutting America off from the world on one hand, while he is getting closer to leaders who share his nationalist, right-wing vision, like Narendra Modi in India and Bibi Netanyahu in Israel. These are not just diplomatic ties but ideological connections. What is more worrisome is that the two prime ministers are the ones overseeing the top two most dangerous, longstanding and deadliest conflicts in the world – Kashmir and Gaza. Saner minds fear that this troika will leave scars on the entire world, including the US itself. The policies they push today can leave lasting consequence and fuel instability for years, if not decades.
Trump is creating cracks in international trust, which may not be fixable with a simple policy shift later. As for the moment, his support remains strong, with ultra-right wing cheering at the sight of nationalist policies being forwarded. However, the potential consequences of his torch-bearing leadership will be witnessed at a later stage. The flames being fanned could very well burn the house down. Isolation sounds great, but it also means standing alone, especially when things go wrong. It is not about whether this will happen or not. It is just about the pattern, with history repeating itself.
Trump sailed through the presidential election and might also bag a few battles he is so eagerly starting, but in that process, his grand symphony of power is likely to be interpreted by the world as nothing but noise. When those echoes return, they may very well signal his undoing.
