Disordered

Since the end of World War II, nations have worked hard to build a rules- and values-based global order presided over by multilateral institutions such as the United Nations. That goal of an ordered world is now in serious jeopardy.

The UN has now become a toothless forum, held hostage by the major post-war powers through their veto powers over any decision taken by the Security Council. The global trading regime has been repeatedly violated by unilateral US actions. Washington’s attack against Venezuela brazenly violates all sovereignty guarantees the post-war global order has been trying to provide.

The recent turn of events in global politics is more than the sum of Donald Trump’s character flaws. The world’s strongest military power has removed all guardrails to ensure the responsible exercise of that power. This is the culmination of many years of American unilateralism, traceable to as early as the Vietnam War.

When the US intervened in Vietnam, American leaders tried hard to convince the world about its “domino theory” – that one country succumbing to communism will cause other countries to subsequently fall. After the Cold War ended, this was a proposition difficult to sell to the rest of the world.

When the US invaded Afghanistan, Washington told us this was necessary to protect the global order from the rise of terrorism. America did not win that war.

When the US launched its invasion of Iraq, we were told this was necessary to arrest the rise of rogue states that threatened global stability. Many nations bought into this justification, supporting a Coalition of the Willing to bring down a tyrant and establish democracy in a land that was never familiar with it.

When the US attacked Venezuela and dragged out its resident tyrant, Washington did not bother to embroider the action with any ideological justification. Trump spoke the quiet part out loud: the US was there for the oil.

It turned out, however, that Venezuela’s oil sector was not an attractive investment proposition for the oil giants. Putting in $100 billion in a country with no legal system to speak of and constantly threatened with civil war was pure folly. Besides, the world was on the verge of an oil surplus. There was no profit to be made in Venezuela.

Since America’s oil giants expressed their dark assessment about the future of oil investments in Venezuela, Trump has kept quiet about the matter. The impressive military operation to grab Maduro amounted to nothing strategically.

Meanwhile, Trump’s threatening words against the regime in Tehran for wantonly killing protestors turned out to be a dud. America’s allies in the region warned of uncontrollable consequences if America attacked the mullahs.

Since last week, like a child engrossed with a shiny new object, Trump has been exclusively focused on acquiring Greenland. He has not been shy about declaring his willingness to use military force to grab a sparsely populated but resource-rich territory that is under Denmark’s sovereignty.

There are, to be sure, so much resources Greenland may yield. Not the least of these are rare earth minerals that the US needs over the long term to break China’s near-monopoly over metals essential to much of modern technology. But, even if the US tries its best, building a rare earths industry in Greenland is decades down the road. Too late to break China’s stranglehold over vital supply chains.

The largest foreign population in Greenland, by the way, is Filipinos. These days, that is hardly surprising. Our diaspora reaches the farthest corners of the world.

Also, despite its name, Greenland is packed in ice all year round. Iceland has more green than its larger neighbor.

In his obsession with acquiring Greenland, Trump has offered to pay off the island’s tiny population. He has threatened to impose fantastic tariffs on nations getting in the way of US acquisition. The threat could be reduced to a dud should the US Supreme Court rule against Trump on the matter of wielding the tariff sword. Nevertheless, Trump has flown to the Davos conference in a vain effort to convince European leaders to yield to his desire.

At any rate, Trump’s obsession with acquiring Greenland has duly alarmed Europe. Denmark has declared the island is not for sale. In response to Trump’s loud declarations about invading Greenland, the Danes have beefed up her small detachment in the territory. Britain and France have sent in token reinforcements.

Should Trump persist in trying to acquire Greenland, even by force, he might as well dissolve the NATO. Both the US and Denmark are NATO members. This makes the confrontation entirely unseemly.

The US is beginning to pay the price for not reining in Trump. Early this week, the US stock exchange suffered a major loss due to anxiety over a new round of uneconomical tariffs. Trump has been continuously hurting the US economy since he took over a year ago.

The Europeans have indicated they will resist Trump’s attempts to take control of Greenland, no matter the costs. Should Trump continue with his tariff threat against European trade, the costs on both ends may be very large indeed.

Whatever happens in this emerging dispute, it is clear that the rules-based global order, a dream nurtured since the end of the last great war, is on the verge of completely dissipating. There is only so much American unilateralism the world can take.