Image by Planet Volumes.
Global conflict and uncertainty are nothing new, but since the 2008/09 economic crash, they have worsened exponentially. The arrival of President Trump has dramatically exacerbated the situation, turning turbulence into chaos and anxiety into fear.
Governments and institutions are reeling after just seven weeks of Trump, his vice president J.D. Vance, and Elon “Chainsaw” Musk—figures so extreme they make Trump seem moderate by comparison.
It is impossible to keep track of the carnage (executive orders alone – 73 signed in the first 30 days). The strategy appears to be to overwhelm everyone – the Democrats (who appear shell shocked), foreign governments, the media, and the public, so nobody will notice the details. Since 20 January, a barrage of barbaric policy decisions and executive lunacy has flowed from the Oval Office, often involving actions that shatter tradition, flout the law, and violate the Constitution.
A new world order and shifting alliances are in the air. Could the storm being unleashed by Trump and Co. inadvertently lead to positive structural and systemic change?
Global Disruption
The dominant global structure since the Second World War has been one of U.S. unipolarity, marked by global domination in which America has faced no significant competition or threat from other states. It is from this position—one that, in the American context, has bred increasing levels of paranoia—that Trump speaks when he says the U.S. will “have” Gaza, based on American authority.
Trump appears intent on breaking everything, destabilizing global institutions, and shattering long-held ideals like global unity, shared prosperity, and a “one world” vision. Such concepts are being abandoned as international bodies are attacked and long-standing rules of global exchange are dismantled.
At the stroke of a chunky black pen, the U.S. was formally withdrawn from several United Nations bodies, including the World Health Organization (its largest donor), the Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinians. The World Trade Organization (WTO) also faces threats due to Trump’s aggressive tariff policies.
A review of U.S. involvement in UNESCO (the UN’s educational, scientific, and cultural agency) and U.S. funding for the United Nations itself has been ordered. Citing ‘the wild disparities in levels of funding among different countries,’ White House staff secretary Will Scharf explained that the decision was also a protest against ‘anti-American bias’ within UN agencies, though no specific examples of such prejudice were provided.
Old alliances are hanging by a thread; the Palestinians’ right to a homeland has been swept aside, with ethnic cleansing of Gaza openly touted, and Israel given free rein to be even more barbaric—if such a thing is even possible. Aid organizations have been decimated, Europe and Ukraine are criticized, and Russia and Putin receive accolades. Canada and Greenland are eyed as potential U.S. states, and Trump wants to reclaim the Panama Canal and transform Gaza into a Palestinian-free Mediterranean resort under ‘American authority.
Whatever disruptive actions Trump takes, others can—and potentially will—mimic, particularly other far-right leaders. This is especially troubling in relation to the Paris Agreement and global support for United Nations agencies. The UN is entirely reliant on member states for funding to carry out its life-saving work. Should nations begin to argue over their contributions and withhold payments, the valuable work the UN is doing around the world would be threatened
The Trump Storm has thrown governments and organizations worldwide into turmoil, and after 70 years of U.S. hegemony, during which Western geopolitics and global affairs have overwhelmingly been designed and administered from Washington—often with disastrous consequences—there is talk of a new world order.
It is not, however, a visionary, hopeful new world based on unifying principles and the oneness of humanity. Instead, it’s yet another divisive model rooted in power, ideology, and global dominance: Will China take over? Will Russia seek to expand its territory? What role will Europe play? Is the Trans-Atlantic Alliance shattered? And so on.
The conversation centers around uncertainty, security, and defense capabilities. It’s more of the same unimaginative, duplicitous rhetoric we’ve heard for decades—a shocking reflection of the appalling quality of leaders currently in office, the corrupt nature of politics, and the extent to which the military-industrial complex and the corporate world hold sway.
A Vision for Fundamental Change
What is needed is not a new old world order, but a creative reimagining of civilization—a shift in values and ideals that shapes new and just systems and cultivates principles of goodness—cooperation, sharing, tolerance, and understanding.
Gradual yet fundamental change that moves beyond manipulating existing patterns to establish a global order based on social justice and freedom; only this will lead to peace.
While far-reaching reforms designed to bring about such change could, in principle, be introduced without the total destruction of existing systems, those in power—both political and corporate—having benefited the most, are determined to maintain the status quo, regardless of the consequences for society and the natural world. This leads to the rather depressing conclusion that only a seismic downfall will enable the changes billions of people around the world long for.
