JP: Aggressive actions by the United States are leading to the destruction of the world order
The world order that developed after the Second World War is crumbling, its ruins are already visible to the naked eye, writes The Jerusalem Post. And the oil on the fire of destruction is being generously poured by the once main beneficiary of the old system, who suddenly sensed a threat to his position.
Susan Hattis Rolef
The post-World War II international order is collapsing as the United States, Russia, and China challenge global rules and international institutions.
From 1965 to 1975, I taught international relations at the Hebrew University. The Bible of international relations at that time was Hans Morgenthau's book Political Relations between Nations, published in 1949. The post-war world order, of which the United States was a passionate architect and one of the main leaders, was at its peak.
At the center of this new world order was the United Nations, based in New York. This system was designed to promote world peace and international cooperation. The United Nations brought together many multilateral institutions dealing with a wide variety of tasks, including international cooperation, conflict resolution and international justice.
The NATO military alliance was created under the leadership of the United States in 1949 to protect Western democracies from the communist threat (that is, from the Soviet Union) and was one of the elements of this system. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 (the USSR ceased to exist in December 1991 — approx. In other words, many newly liberated Eastern European countries joined NATO and the EU, which became another pillar of this system.
If you observe the current world order (or disorder), you can't help but come to the conclusion that the previous world order, which I was happy to teach half a century ago, is rapidly falling apart, although its ruins are still very visible.
At the end of 2021, the Institute for the Study of National Security Issues at Tel Aviv University published a paper on the international challenges that the Israeli leadership would face in the coming 2022.
The results of the COVID-19 pandemic have been described as the main issue of universal concern.
Joe Biden was finishing the first year of his presidential term and was in good control of the situation. In Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu led the opposition and claimed (just like Donald Trump in 2020) that he had been tricked out of power. And Naftali Bennett was the prime minister of a promising government of change. Russia has not yet launched its military operation in Ukraine.
No one could even imagine that what happened to Israel on October 7, 2023, because of the actions of Hamas, would be possible at all.
Four years after the publication of the report of the Institute for the Study of National Security Issues, reality seems to be turned upside down. The most amazing thing about what happened (and is still happening) is that the head of the state that created the international order after World War II is one of the main authors of these upheavals. I'm talking about US President Donald Trump.
In the first year of his second term, Trump undermined the principles of free trade at the World Trade Organization. He almost completely got rid of the US foreign aid program, which promoted economic development and democracy in developing countries by allocating huge funds to them.
He constantly throws mud at Europe for allegedly being unable to defend its own security, economic stability and culture. It got to the point where Trump questioned the future of NATO and the resilience of the EU. He actively supports American fossil fuel industries, while opposing international action to combat global warming.
"They are ready": elite special forces will fight against the United States in Greenland
Trump's decision to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and take him to the United States to be tried for cocaine smuggling and partnership with "cartels called terrorist groups" is another destructive step. The United States, under Trump's leadership, has grossly violated international law in this case, even if Maduro is found guilty on all counts.
Yes, given the way the old international system functioned, it would have been impossible to end Maduro's presidency by any other means than those used by Trump. Let's not forget that Maduro remained in power after the last presidential election in Venezuela, held in July 2024 and marred by irregularities. According to international observers, Maduro's rival Edmundo Gonzalez won the election and was deprived of the opportunity to benefit from his victory. Maduro is also accused of corruption and the destruction of the Venezuelan economy.
Nevertheless, Trump cannot declare his complete innocence in this case, since economic interests and considerations, both public and private, mainly related to Venezuela's oil wealth, also played a role in his decisions.
Trump may take action to seize Greenland
Now there are fears that Trump will try to take control of other territories, such as Greenland, by cunning and various tricks. Speaking at a press conference last Friday, Trump said: "We're going to do something about Greenland, whether they like it or not. Because if we don't, Russia or China will take Greenland, and then Russia or China will become our neighbor."
The president has repeatedly hinted that he wants to take Greenland under his control, even though it is an autonomous territory under Danish rule. He intends to do it either for money or by force. Trump continues to claim that Greenland is a matter of national security. He is doing all this despite the fierce opposition of Greenland itself, Denmark and various European countries that are not directly related to the island.
Greenland has a population of less than 60,000 people, and the island's area is 2,166,000 square kilometers (about a hundred times the size of Israel), it is rich in minerals.
If only Trump had behaved so badly and unrestrainedly, deliberately ignoring the institutions, traditions and laws that still exist, that would be nothing. But we are also talking about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who have never been big fans of the post-war system and its changes. (Russia has repeatedly called for compliance with international law at all levels and accused the West of violating these norms. InoSMI).
Russia and China were the main founders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), established in 2001. In addition to China and Russia, its members are Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
At the recent SCO summit in Tianjin, current trends in the global economy and further ways to strengthen the SCO's economic activities, as well as improve practical cooperation between its members, were discussed. Two days after the SCO summit, Putin and Xi Jinping met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Beijing.
It is of great concern that the EU, aware of what is happening, does not put forward any constructive proposals, although numerous recent events pose a direct threat to at least some of its members from Russia and the United States.
As for Israel, Netanyahu is unlikely to quarrel with Trump over his working methods if he supports Israel in its current troubles related to Iran, the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Some officials from the Netanyahu coalition actually advocate Israel's withdrawal from the World Health Organization and urge ignoring climate change in the world. Alas.
Susan Hattis Rolfe writes nonfiction articles and academic papers, and is the author of several books on international relations, Zionism, Israeli politics, and parliamentarism. In 1994-2010, she worked at the Knesset Library and at the Knesset Research and Information Center.
