Instability increases around the world
W ill Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017, become heralded as the date the widely perceived threat to American democracy posed by President Donald Trump encountered its first serious challenge?
Many Americans would like to think so, following the razor-thin electoral victory of Doug Jones, the Democratic Party candidate running for the vacant senatorial seat in Alabama, which hadn’t elected a Democratic senator for a quartercentury.
Compared with Trump, Jones is a relative moderate who says he’s committed to uniting all the citizens of Alabama, including the large black population.
If Jones’ narrow electoral victory (by 1.5 per cent) is confirmed, he, like many American politicians, will confront an increasingly divided American society that Trump exploited to advance his own political objectives during the last presidential election.
Some point to the divisive and unsettling policies of Trump as major factors undermining stability in the U.S., even causing negative fallout for other countries.
Both Canada and Mexico are keenly aware their economic futures could suffer if NAFTA is terminated due to Trump’s threat to withdraw from the trade agreement because Canada and Mexico won’t do what he wants.
Trump’s abrupt withdrawal from the all-important Paris Agreement to combat the greenhouse-gas emissions already damaging the planet has been denounced by governments and climate experts alike.
As if things couldn’t get worse, Trump and the unpredictable leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, have escalated international fears that their exchange of threats could escalate into a nuclear showdown, resulting in millions of deaths.
This doomsday scenario has been taking place at a time when developments in many other countries are undermining national stability and commitment to traditional democratic values and the rule of law.
However, attempting to pinpoint or understand the forces responsible for the changes taking place in many regions of the world is clearly almost impossible.
Some in Europe attribute growing unrest there to the massive inflow of asylum seekers, numbering well beyond one million. While such a gigantic mass movement has obviously had a dramatic impact on countries such as Italy, Greece and Turkey, the country confronting the greatest challenge dealing with the flood of people fleeing the Middle East has been Germany.
The arrival in Germany of so many asylum seekers — plus young males seeking jobs — has, according to German police, resulted in significant increased crimes, plus attacks against women. This worked to the advantage of a German extreme right-wing political party, which gained seats in the German parliament in recent national elections.
These developments have raised serious doubts about Chancellor Angela Merkel’s political future. Her departure from the political scene could have serious repercussions for the 28-member European Union.
Since Germany, Britain and France have played pivotal roles in providing leadership in Europe, Merkel’s departure, accompanied by the withdrawal of Britain from the EU, would leave France’s President Emmanuel Macron to provide leadership within the EU, which is itself showing signs of internal divisions over its long-term role and the Euro currency.
Interestingly, since his recent election, Macron, unlike other leaders, has demonstrated he’s prepared to speak his mind concerning Trump’s dubious and harmful policies.
He recently criticized Trump’s controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He pointedly didn’t include Trump in the recent summit dealing with global climate change. He also announced his government would offer assistance to scientists wishing to pursue environmental studies intended to combat global climate change, pointedly including American scientists.
While EU leaders such as Macron might play a significant role on the international stage, other leaders, such as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, can be expected to pursue their own agendas.
This is particularly true of China, which is increasing its global importance, including its dramatically expanding military capability.
However, at a time when much of the planet confronts growing threats of global climate change, including droughts, hurricanes, crop failures and disappearing fish stocks, plus widespread social instability in many countries, leaders such as Trump who fail to support international efforts to deal with such interrelated dangers will become more and more isolated and condemned.