The age of Trump

“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” – Albert Einstein

The age of Trump is upon us, and we don’t know what to do about it. Within a few weeks, the control of nuclear launch codes in the US will be handed over to a person who has not only proved himself to be highly unpredictable but also frighteningly reckless.

Marco Rubio, Trump’s former GOP rival, has repeatedly warned that the US cannot afford to give the nuclear codes to “an erratic individual.” Donald Trump is totally unfit to be commander-in-chief, and his ignorance about foreign policy issues makes him uniquely dangerous in a world of growing uncertainties. His stance on almost every foreign policy issue smacks of self-righteousness and extreme arrogance.

During his presidential campaign, Trump suggested that American allies in Asia and the Arabian Peninsula should develop nuclear weapons and take responsibility for their own nuclear deterrence. This approach marks a clear departure from the US’s long-held policy of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons by providing security guarantees to its allied countries. If Saudi Arabia, Japan, and South Korea decided to develop their own nuclear weapons, it would start a mad nuclear arms race in many regions of the world that would only end with the destruction of human civilisation.

Donald Trump has also signalled his intentions to seek India’s help to deal with Pakistan if the latter becomes more unstable. One wonders if Trump and his little-known foreign policy advisers even know that Pakistan is a nuclear power with more than 120 nuclear weapons in its possession. If the Trump administration expands US military intervention in Pakistan, it would only serve to further destabilise the country.

The most disastrous thing Donald Trump can ever do is mess with a nuclear-armed state like Pakistan. More importantly, if Indian leaders ever tried to become part of Trump’s disastrous plan, it would surely lead to a regional nuclear war.

Quite unsurprisingly, Trump’s irrationality is also evident when it comes to non-security issues. The US has elected a president who proposes to step back from trade agreements. If actually carried out, this would reduce American economic interdependence with other countries and, perhaps, trigger a more general delinking of economies. Collectively, these developments would weaken the conflict-suppressing effects of economic interdependence and increase the risk of international wars.

Trump has threatened to pull his country out of Nafta and the WTO, in addition to cancelling the global climate-change agreement. In the words of Juan Cole, an American academic and commentator, the overarching theme of Trump’s foreign policy is “a mixture of isolationism and surgical aggression.” He will not only start trade wars with many countries including China and Mexico but also destroy the US economy by antagonising many American allies.

Donald Trump is a businessman and like every businessman he will not appreciate the importance of geopolitical realities. He is already trying to put economic nationalism above geopolitical realities. Millions of ignorant American voters, in their blind hatred for President Obama’s policies, have pushed the world towards a new crisis of gigantic proportions by electing a stupid person like Trump.

While Trump’s approach of selective isolationism may have been popular with American voters, withdrawal from the world stage is a lousy foreign policy in a world confronted by an ever-increasing set of interconnected challenges. Hundreds of the most prominent American political scientists, recently wrote a public letter, expressing their deep concern that a Trump presidency “would pose a grave threat to American democracy and to other democratic governments around the world.”

Trump’s choices for members of his cabinet further add to global anxiety. His choice for national security advisor, Lt-Gen (r) Michael Flynn, considers Islamism a vicious cancer inside the body of all Muslims. This rabid hatred for Islam and Muslims in the US is not a surprise, but the prospect of the US looking at more than 1.7 billion Muslims as its enemies should certainly be a cause of worry for saner elements.

Trump’s statements reveal his disdain for minority groups like Hispanics, Muslims, and even women and poor people. Make no mistake: these personal prejudices will go a long way in informing his policy choices in the years to come.

There is a view that Trump’s victory should be seen as the rejection of the pro-globalisation lobbies. The majority of white working class voters do not see the move towards a world without boundaries in a positive light. It is believed that the working class in the US feels left in the cold by the many developments made possible by a rapid increase in cross-border movement of goods and services. But the argument that Trump has voiced these grievances over the existing international institutions does not make much sense because he has spelt out few policy alternatives.

One thing is true: if Trump does not adjust his rhetoric, and goes on to fulfil even half of his campaign promises, he will kill globalisation as we know it. The world could be a much more dangerous place to live in after January 20th when Trump gets to start work as US president. The world has entered the age of insanity and it will take us many decades to come out of it.

Email:rizwanasghar5@unm.edu