This crude imperialism can reverberate all over the world. If the United States can remove the President of Venezuela and seize his oil reserves, then the Russian invasion of Ukraine is no longer such an anomaly. The same goes for a possible Chinese occupation of Taiwan
Many historical events have been labelled as turning points. The Battle of Stalingrad, for example, arguably changed the course of the Second World War. The dissolution of the Soviet Union ended the Cold War. The wider Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 brought a decisive change to European security.
The United States’ latest escapades in Venezuela and the subsequent Trump threats to Colombia, Cuba, and Greenland are of a similar import because they constitute a challenge to the postwar order of 1945. That year saw two critical summits between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain (Yalta and Potsdam), as well as the formation of the United Nations. The purpose of the latter was to prevent further wars and to ensure that large nations were no longer free to attack smaller ones.
But what happens when the police become the lawbreakers? Russia, the offspring of the Soviet Union, has acted belligerently since Vladimir Putin became president in 2000. His first step was—initially as Prime Minister—to restart a brutal war with one of Russia’s own provinces, Chechnya.
The United States maintains that the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 allows it to control the Western hemisphere. Post-1945, it has invaded Guatemala, Grenada, Cuba (the Bay of Pigs 1961), and engineered several coups in Brazil, Chile, and others.
So why should we be especially concerned that a dictator like Nicolas Maduro was kidnapped and flown for trial in the United States in an operation that, in military terms, was flawless?
The answer is twofold. First, it is because an ostensibly democratic country, once considered the leader of the “free world,” is adopting violence as its preferred choice to resolve problems. It means the relinquishment of diplomacy and discussions, or even approval from the US Congress. Trump, Rubio, and Hegseth acted alone.
Second, it signalled that strong countries could assert their power over the weak. It is no longer a matter of ‘spheres of interest’ that once dominated international politics. Instead, an unpredictable, elderly president, who rarely expresses a clear thought or firm policy, is using all the powers granted to him to impose US hegemony on smaller neighbours.
Greenland, for example, is already a site for US military installations, and has no defence against an American military takeover. Its host country, Denmark, founded the colony in 1721, just over 300 years ago, at a time when the Kingdom of Norway existed (comprised of both Norway and Denmark). In 1814, Norway and Denmark split into the current countries, but Denmark kept Greenland and the Faroe Islands (which it still supervises today), as well as Iceland.
Greenland was granted home rule in 1979 and has been self-governing since 2009, but Denmark still supervises foreign policy, defence, and security. Thus, a military attack on Greenland, which Donald Trump has not ruled out, is an assault also on Denmark, a fellow NATO member and ally. That the American leaders are threatening to undermine or even destroy the world’s largest military bloc does not seem to deter Trump in the least.
Further, this crude imperialism can reverberate around the world. If the United States can remove the president of Venezuela and seize its oil reserves, then the Russian invasion of Ukraine is no longer such an anomaly. Both are large countries violating the territory of smaller ones. China, in turn, can argue that the occupation of Taiwan is a strategic necessity.
Such policies not only threaten Ukraine, but they also encourage Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The United States no longer has the moral authority to demand that the Russian army leave Ukraine—not something that Trump has ever demanded, one should add.
In fact, despite some token objections from Moscow, the general response to the US military venture from the Kremlin has been mainly positive. This is how Putin thinks, with the imperial perspective uppermost. The Great Powers are dividing up the world. Any country could now be vulnerable, depending on its resources and location.
As the post-1945 world order disintegrates, we can now see a post-colonial, post-Cold War redivision between the United States, China, and Russia, with some local players beginning to emerge, some of which have no definitive alliances, like Turkey or India.
The United States thus becomes a rogue power rather than one with any moral authority. In turn, its democratic structure deteriorates and may even disappear completely.
The final remnants of the post-Cold War democratic structures are now the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The EU needs to survive pressure not only from the Russian Federation but also from the United States. On paper, it is still a strong unit.
It would be stronger, however, in a format that included the other world democracies, at least in its defence and security structure. We may hope that once Trump and Putin are gone, we may return to the former status quo. And most Americans do not support Trump. But it is not certain and should not be relied upon.
The democratic world needs strong leaders and strong advocates for a democratic path. The second quarter of the 21st century could be a highly dangerous one.