Sad to say, the rest of the world must abandon the old concept of America as leader of the free world. If the free world wants to remain free and healthy, it must shun America, quarantining it for the next four years. We can all hope that Americans will learn the terrible lesson that Mr. Trump is teaching them, but I can understand that people in the free world will never be able to trust Americans again.
The world must also keep in mind the thesis offered by Paul Kennedy in his 1987 book "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers", to the effect that dominant powers -- 'superpowers' in modern parlance -- rely more and more on their military power, to the detriment of the economies that bestowed military power upon them in the first place. They suffer from "imperial overstretch": taking on more challenges than they can successfully handle, resorting to increasingly military responses, until they suffer defeat and collapse. Mr. Trump may appear isolationist in some dimensions, but he is increasingly imperialistic at heart. He has expressed his desire to take over the Panama Canal, Canada, Greenland, and Gaza -- and he's just getting started.
I am hopeful that American institutions will thwart Mr. Trump's seizure of power, but I warn the rest of the world that they must prepare for the possibility that they will face a monster emerging from North America.
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers is a great book and everyone in leadership should read it. I am also hopeful that U.S. will survive the craziness of this administration.
Sad to say, the rest of the world must abandon the old concept of America as leader of the free world. If the free world wants to remain free and healthy, it must shun America, quarantining it for the next four years. We can all hope that Americans will learn the terrible lesson that Mr. Trump is teaching them, but I can understand that people in the free world will never be able to trust Americans again.
The world must also keep in mind the thesis offered by Paul Kennedy in his 1987 book "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers", to the effect that dominant powers -- 'superpowers' in modern parlance -- rely more and more on their military power, to the detriment of the economies that bestowed military power upon them in the first place. They suffer from "imperial overstretch": taking on more challenges than they can successfully handle, resorting to increasingly military responses, until they suffer defeat and collapse. Mr. Trump may appear isolationist in some dimensions, but he is increasingly imperialistic at heart. He has expressed his desire to take over the Panama Canal, Canada, Greenland, and Gaza -- and he's just getting started.
I am hopeful that American institutions will thwart Mr. Trump's seizure of power, but I warn the rest of the world that they must prepare for the possibility that they will face a monster emerging from North America.
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers is a great book and everyone in leadership should read it. I am also hopeful that U.S. will survive the craziness of this administration.