Over the past week, U.S. President Donald Trump has declared war on the world with tariffs, launching indiscriminate attacks and effectively bringing an end to America's decades-long commitment to international trade. He has repeatedly expressed disdain for international organizations such as the United Nations, NATO, and the EU, which were founded under American leadership. He even threatened to annex the territories of allies and terminate some foreign aid provided by the U.S., while also disbanding relevant organizations...

"Since the end of World War II, the American-led global order has been precarious, but under President Trump's leadership, this order is finally beginning to collapse," wrote Amitav Acharya, professor at American University and scholar of international relations, in an article published in The New York Times on August 8.

Some people in the Western world are pessimistic about this. They believe that if this order is overturned, the U.S. under Trump's leadership and several major powers will divide the world and redraw spheres of influence based on their influence.

However, Acharya believes that the end of the American order does not necessarily mean chaos, but rather deserves optimism. He stated, "The American order is not the only feasible system," and for many countries, it is far from being particularly good or fair. Many people look forward to its end as a harbinger of a more inclusive world.

Acharya pointed out that those who feel pessimistic have two misconceptions. In reality, the situation is as follows: first, over the past 70 years, life on Earth has not been as good for everyone as it has been in the West; second, the principles of the order itself were not invented by the West.

Those who defend the American order misunderstand the first point because they believe that this order has prevented large-scale wars and maintained an extremely stable and prosperous international system. However, Acharya found that this benefit was enjoyed only by a very small number of Western countries.

The Gaza Strip devastated by war UN official website

According to calculations by British politician and international relations scholar Evan Luard, among more than 120 wars that occurred between 1945 and 1984, only two took place in Europe, meaning that over 98% of these wars occurred in non-Western countries.

Acharya sharply pointed out the essence of what is called the post-war American order. Its primary commitment is peace, but peace is exclusive to the West. He wrote that not only did the West successfully protect its member states (and some other countries) from chaos, disorder, and injustice, but it sometimes exacerbated the chaos in the non-Western world, such as the U.S. interventions in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Regarding the second point, Acharya explained that former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger described the "European Concert" consensus formed after Napoleon's defeat in 1815 as a model for maintaining international stability in his book "World Order." However, this consensus only lasted for less than a century and ceased to exist around the time of the First World War. Nevertheless, great power diplomacy and cooperation can be traced back 3,000 years, when the Near Eastern hegemon Egypt, the Hittites, Mitanni, Assyria, and Babylon developed an "Amarna Diplomacy" system based on the principle of equal reciprocity. This system maintained peace for approximately twice as long as the "European Concert" consensus.

In Acharya's view, recognizing that these orders originated in the distant non-Western world implies that order can exist in a world not dominated by the U.S.

Acharya wrote: "Maintaining order has always been a common endeavor, and the Global South nations also yearn for participation in a world with fewer double standards and greater fairness. After World War II, many Southern nations gained independence and became active participants in international politics and multilateral institutions, but now the U.S. is destroying these institutions."

Acharya said that the organizations established by these non-Western nations usually do not include Western countries. Their motivation for doing so is not out of resentment. For example, most new members and founding members of the BRICS countries over the past year are not anti-American. They seek to use this organization to reform and expand global cooperation, rather than overturn global cooperation. They want to promote the establishment of a fairer system.

"The old American-led order has not yet perished," Acharya predicted. With unparalleled military strength, the dominance of the dollar, and a strong technological foundation, the U.S. remains the strongest country in the world. It will still be a global superpower, perhaps the only one, but the order it built is unlikely to last until the end of this century. "The world today is not a paradise, but a fairer world is possible."

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Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7491976909744701987/

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