Shaking hands with a dictator

A FEW days ago, US President Donald Trump became the first US President to enter North Korea, a major milestone in the Trump Administration’s attempts at bringing peace to the Korean peninsula. However, this essay will not focus on the Korean negotiations, but rather the reactions of certain members of intellectual and journalistic class in the United States, including several foreign policy commentators.  

Basically, they criticized Trump for engaging with Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s infamous leader. This criticism comes from America’s self-image as the so-called defender of freedom, liberty and liberalism. The fact that Trump did what he did undermined this self-image. American Presidents are not supposed to shake hands with dictators. They’re supposed to threaten or bomb them. And yet, Trump shook hands with Kim, and may even be actively trying to end the decades long Korean War without forcing the North Koreans to submit themselves to American de-nuclearization.

For many in the United States, this is a betrayal of principles.

But here’s the thing. The majority of Americans throughout most of their history were largely isolationist. In fact, large sections of the country didn’t even want to join the Second World War prior to Pearl Harbor. It was only in the post-cold war era that America and a certain portion of the American public began to think of themselves as the guardians of liberalism, democracy, and of the free world. It was only during this relatively recent era that Americans saw their country’s role as the global protector of the world order/system as an essential part of their collective ego.

But now, that ego is cracking apart. Many polls indicate that a large number of Americans prefer limiting immigration, building the wall and staying out of foreign entanglements. For most of the American foreign policy establishment, this is quite frustrating, because American disengagement ultimately means the end of the American world order, Pax Americana.

And If Pax Americana goes, the United States becomes just another country, a specific nation with a specific identity, land and interests. It will no longer be the defender of pretty catchphrases, nor will it pick fights with countries ruled by dictators. It may even build closer ties with such nations if their interests align.

Trump’s handshake with Kim is a symbol that the United States may be getting tired of its global role and, as I’ve written in previous essays, he is attempting to restore the world balance of power by slowly disengaging America from its overseas commitments. He’s had some mixed results in this area, but he is trying, and that’ll remain true so long as he doesn’t start any wars or bomb major targets.

For the American establishment, however, this is bad, and it’s bad not only on an emotional level but also on a historical and political level. America’s soft, informal empire created global peace and prosperity (often at the expense of its enemies and the American working class), and without Pax Americana, that peace and prosperity goes away… for a lot of powerful people. For those in power, Trump shaking hands with Kim was probably akin to America putting away its Imperial mantle./PN

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