The Latin phrase Pax Americana, meaning ‘American Peace,’ was created after the end of the Second World War in 1945.
For the next 80 or so years America acted as the Western world’s peacemaker and anchor of stability.
But now, all of a sudden, Pax Americana is being dismantled by the bewildering antics of US President Donald Trump.
It is a staggering yet undeniable fact that an American president is destroying his own country’s global reputation.
The US dollar’s pre-eminence and what is known as American exceptionalism, or the belief that the United States is somehow distinctive, unique, and exemplary compared to other nations, are being undermined by America’s own democratically elected leader.
Of course, Trump does not see it like that. He believes America was in terminal decline and only his extreme right-wing policies can “Make America Great Again.”
He appears not to care that his actions wreck the global order and overturn the balance of power between nations.
It is as if he has moved the world’s tectonic plates and caused an earthquake and tsunami so huge that every nation that used to count America as its ally must now find new friends and forge new relationships.
America under Trump is reverting to its old isolationist self or as American popular culture would say, it is circling the wagons.
I wonder how Trump’s betrayal, for that is what it is, of America’s friends will affect our region of East Asia?
Japan and South Korea are utterly dependent on America for their security. If America withdraws will Japan want its own nuclear weapons? And will South Korea want to balance North Korea’s nuclear strength?
As for Taiwan, it now seems unlikely it can rely on America.
And then there is the bizarre irony that the two countries that caused the destruction of the Second World War, Germany and Japan, are the same two countries that will now need to re-arm themselves.
How do we make sense out of Trump? It is the question on millions of puzzled minds. He seems to divide the world into winners and losers. He calls Russian President Vladimir Putin a “strong guy,” which makes him a clear winner. He also admires President Xi Jinping, calling him “a brilliant guy. He controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist.”
Trump the businessman also admires rich men, which is why he lined up some of America’s wealthiest men to attend his inauguration. Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos – they were all there and accorded prominent places.
According to the magazine Wired, businessmen who want to get close to Trump and have a one-on-one dinner with the president at his Mar-a-Lago complex in Florida can do so in return for payment of up to US$5 million (HK$39 million). I don’t know if this true but it certainly rings true.
I had been hoping that Trump’s second presidency would be more sane, calmer and more mature than his first.
The wishful thought was that he would be more predictable, more dignified and more interested in establishing his legacy as a great reforming president.
Sadly, Trump has not lost his bad habits. If anything his egregiousness has grown worse. The last few weeks have confirmed what those of us prepared to give Trump the benefit of the doubt have, in our heart of hearts, always feared: that he is totally unscrupulous and vain.
There is no point in being America’s friend because Trump may want to seize your country, as Canada, Greenland and Panama have found out. If you are weak he will humiliate you, if you are strong he will worship you. As the old saying has it, ‘might is right.’
Make no mistake about the seismic importance of what Trump is doing.
We live through a huge pivotal moment for the world and things will never be the same. But the future need not be all negative.
On the contrary, a world with a subdued America, an America that does not want to be the world’s policeman, an America that ceases its historical meddling in other nation’s affairs, can be a much better world.
Hopefully, Trump’s new America will accept China’s rise and end its futile attempts to stymie its economic power.
Nearly two years ago, on March 22, 2023 Xi famously said “Right now there are changes, the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years. And we are the ones driving these changes together.”
How right he was, but I doubt he expected so much assistance from Donald J Trump.
Cheng Huan is an author and a senior counsel who practices in Hong Kong
