A New World Order?

Why these five members of the UN Security Council?

It appears that the international post-war settlements are in turmoil as many of the outcomes and institutions are being consigned to the history stacks by the right-wing anti-democratic oligarchs that are surfing the tides of nationalism and populism. Trump has begun his second term with a series of proposals that have been described as unhinged. The United Nations, NATO and world trade agreements are under threat. Israel and Russia are being given United States support as they raze cities to the ground and ruthlessly kill thousands in Gaza and Ukraine, either with or without American weapons and intelligence. Climate action is being abandoned, and across the world, a roster of new Rogue States is being nurtured by Trump's disruptive playlist of malevolent trade deals, forced emigration and dumbed-down democracy. 

The term Rogue State has been previously applied to countries as an excuse for Imperialistic action, usually carried out by the United States, think Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, or Libya and less overtly in North Korea, Syria, Sudan and Iran. However, many academics argue that countries responsible for violating international agreements are also considered Rogue States. This would make Russia, Israel and the United States strong nominees for this sobriquet.

The United States and Russia, as members of the Permanent Security Council, have the power of veto in the United Nations. This allows them to prevent resolutions that restrict their own interference in the affairs of sovereign states. Other nations have allowed this to happen because they were in the orbit of one of these powers. That could be about to change as the outcome of Trump's game of disruption and furtive alliance with Russia.  In the process, respect for the United States from those countries, which had been allies for eighty years, has diminished. It could result in the formation of new power blocks as influence ebbs away from an increasingly insular and self-serving USA. China is already exerting its influence in Africa and South America and courting the Asian Tiger economies. Europe has been slumbering, but it has a combined GDP that is equivalent to the United States. However, Europe has been less assertive in exploiting its power for what should be wider global objectives and values.

According to Eurostat, in 2021, China had the largest GDP with 18.9% of the world total. The USA and EU are neck and neck with 15.5% and 15.2%, respectively, followed by India with 7.2% and Russia with 3.8%. But add the UK with 2.3% and other non-EU countries like Norway, Switzerland and Iceland, and Europe has a similar GDP to China and five times that of Russia. If other sympathetic countries like Canada, Australia, Turkey and Japan were added to Europe, a new power block could be created with over 25% of the world's GDP.  By and large, they have supported the United States in the post-war era. Take them away, and the United States has lost both its economic and soft power. Under Trump‘s baleful influence, the United States is undoubtedly giving these countries a justification to transfer their allegiance to a more egalitarian union of nations. One that is not subservient to the self-interests of the USA. 

Eurostat: Comparison of the World's GDP

The disruptions that Trump claimed during his address to Congress after being inaugurated have confirmed that the USA is becoming an imperialist impostor, a Rogue State that has abandoned its allies. His belief that he can dictate terms to the rest of the world has been found wanting in Ukraine, Gaza, China and Canada. Europe is girding its loins to sever the umbilical cord to the United States; its combined GDP is four times that of Russia. China and India are the world's fastest growing economies with he largest populations. The world order is changing, and hopefully, the primary purpose of the United Nations can be reestablished without the baleful influence of Trump's America using its veto to undermine these objectives, which are: 

• to maintain international peace and security
• to develop friendly relations among nations, 
• to achieve international cooperation in solving global problems like poverty, disease, and human rights, and 
• to serve as a centre for harmonising the actions of nations.