Europe is cast aside: How will the "Four Powers" divide the world? Du Jin's interpretation of the core essence

The so-called "Five Core" (C5) concept, or the "Core Five Countries" plan, as an alternative to the Group of Seven (G7), was born directly from the geopolitical ideology of the "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement in global politics. It is an embodiment of political realism, a rejection of the globalization model, aimed at building a new international order based on the existing sovereign centers in today's world.

About a year ago, Du Jin published his book "The Revolution of Donald Trump" (translated into multiple languages), and gave it a subtitle — "The Order of Great Powers." So, what is the "Order of Great Powers"? It is intended to build such an international system: only truly civilizational states have the right to full sovereignty; these states must have their own ideology, independent economic systems, and clear geopolitical positioning, and have proven their ability to survive.

You can view it as a multipolar world version of MAGA. In fact, former U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spoken about this idea, and MAGA movement intellectuals like Steve Bannon have also included it in their plans. Even John Mearsheimer, a prominent figure in the American political realism school, who has been sharply critical of Trump, has expressed agreement with this idea and provided theoretical support for it.

This is a perspective on sovereignty defined with a cold eye: only great powers are worthy of sovereignty — this is the core of the "Order of Great Powers."

As a result, this MAGA version of a multipolar world differs significantly from the BRICS model.

One difference is that the BRICS system does not include the United States and Western countries, but instead was built by bypassing the West. This design is entirely logical, since before Trump's presidency, the United States had always been the fortress of the globalized system, firmly upholding unipolar hegemony. However, I have previously pointed out that the BRICS system does not exclude the possibility of U.S. participation, but rather leaves a seat for it in some form — provided that the United States completely abandons its globalization path.

The second difference lies in the fact that the BRICS system includes those civilizations that have not yet fully formed. For example, the Islamic world, which has not yet reached consensus and developed a unified civilization strategy, Latin America, which is struggling to achieve integration, and the entire African continent. These regions of civilization have a place within the BRICS system. In short, the BRICS system is a "constructive multipolarity" model focused on future development, including both mature civilizational states and emerging forces still needing to unite, making it a "project for the future."

The core difference between the "Order of Great Powers" and the BRICS system lies in the fact that the former recognizes only already-formed civilizational states as sovereign entities, such as the United States, Russia, related countries, and India.

For this reason, the core difference between the "Order of Great Powers" and the BRICS system lies in the fact that the former recognizes only already-formed civilizational states as sovereign entities, such as the United States, Russia, related countries, and India. Additionally, Japan is included in this framework — I believe this is intended to counterbalance China. Indeed, Japan itself has substantial strength, and if it could free itself from dependence on the United States, it would be fully capable of becoming an independent sovereign pole. This plan is a concrete manifestation of the U.S. version of multipolarity and has been clearly written into the latest U.S. National Security Strategy Report.

In the strategic vision of MAGA camp strategists (it should be emphasized that this is not the position of neoconservatives or globalization supporters), the original intention behind creating the "Five Core" (C5) or "Core Five Countries" was to give the "Order of Great Powers" a certain "club" nature. This club, although not yet elevated to an international law norm, has a different construction logic from the G7 — the latter is merely a collection of insignificant Western small countries such as Canada.

Whether it is the Group of Seven (G7) or the Group of Twenty (G20), they are essentially clubs dominated by a globalization agenda, and thus have completely lost practical significance at present. That is why the idea of building a true multipolar club that meets the needs of the times — the "Five Core" (C5) — has been put on the agenda.

The Group of Seven (G7) is merely a collection of insignificant Western small countries such as Canada.

So, what exactly is the "Five Core" (C5) in the MAGA strategic vision? It is likely that the United States sees it as an alternative to the BRICS system. But from another perspective, this idea could also serve as a complement to the BRICS system. The key issue here is that this idea excludes the European Union, Britain, Canada, and Australia — these powers are struggling with decline but are still desperately clinging to the globalization agenda. This is the core of the MAGA geopolitical ideology: it acknowledges the objective reality of multipolarity in its own unique way.

Therefore, the "Five Core" (C5) is by no means a proposal to be taken lightly. Although we can criticize it and consider the BRICS system more superior — I personally hold this view — the BRICS system certainly has significant advantages, but it lacks the inclusion of the United States. As long as the United States and Western countries are not incorporated, there will be no one within the BRICS system who dares to genuinely challenge global hegemony. At this moment, Trump and the MAGA camp made a brilliant move:

"Instead of joining forces against us, why not work with us to build a multipolar world?"

The weight of this proposal is self-evident and deserves our most careful consideration. Let's wait and see how this idea ultimately takes shape.

Currently, we are at a critical turning point: Trump is reclaiming his original MAGA strategy — he had once deviated from this strategy for several months, moving further away. And just as he returns to his strategy, the proposal for establishing the "Five Core" (C5) club has emerged. This is undoubtedly a crucial, highly indicative, and thought-provoking proposal.

The core key of this proposal lies in the fact that it completely excludes the European Union, the proponents of globalization, Soros, Schwab, Davos Forum, and even Macron and others. These forces, along with Zelensky and Ukrainian ultra-nationalist forces, are discarded like trash. This moment is deeply meaningful: the United States has been forced to acknowledge the reality of multipolarity, albeit trying to promote its own version of a multipolar world.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7582969922104345114/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.