What "other friends" are there to be had? The main antagonists that you might be alluding to are all facing some form of their own existential threats - most of which are internal and self-inflicted. None of them really are in a position to offer anything of durable value to our current allies and partners. Russia is bankrupt; China's Belt and Road has been called out globally for what it really is and their economy is levered 3x as much as our own; Iran and North Korea are tittering on the verge of complete regime collapse.
With the exception of the UK, the major states of the EU are tacking towards their own forms of nationalism slightly out of sync timeframe-wise from the US. The current ruling party in the US (I dare not call them Republicans because they don't resemble anything like the party I'm familiar with) will reliably overplay and misread its "mandate" as so many administrations - of both political persuasions - have done over our modern history. We're already seeing it happen in real time.
Count on midterms to reset the political landscape, as they almost always do. And should the Democrats be able to stop their seemingly endless tendancy toward political self-immolation, their re-ascendency is just about guaranteed.
So, our allies and friends are likely just going to wait us out. A political form of shadow-boxing, if you like.
The art of diplomacy is to get another nation to do what you want them to do. Madeline Albright
Diplomacy isn't just about friendly conversations and agreements, but also about advancing a nation's interests and achieving its objectives on the international stage. This can involve negotiation, persuasion, compromise, and sometimes even applying pressure to influence other countries' decisions and actions.
I was once was a diplomat and used all of these tactics. Coercion with friends, though, should be avoided, especially when about silly and unrealistic things like landing our military plans (it is cheaper to use commercial) or buying Greenland.
Additionally, I think Trump is playing hardball to demonstrate to the world that there is a new "sheriff in town" and he is not like Joe Biden. It's grandstanding to some extent to make a point.
Ys of course. And he's making a point that a lot of our allies don't like; no one likes a bully, and especially allies & partners. Thats the point of my piece.
What "other friends" are there to be had? The main antagonists that you might be alluding to are all facing some form of their own existential threats - most of which are internal and self-inflicted. None of them really are in a position to offer anything of durable value to our current allies and partners. Russia is bankrupt; China's Belt and Road has been called out globally for what it really is and their economy is levered 3x as much as our own; Iran and North Korea are tittering on the verge of complete regime collapse.
With the exception of the UK, the major states of the EU are tacking towards their own forms of nationalism slightly out of sync timeframe-wise from the US. The current ruling party in the US (I dare not call them Republicans because they don't resemble anything like the party I'm familiar with) will reliably overplay and misread its "mandate" as so many administrations - of both political persuasions - have done over our modern history. We're already seeing it happen in real time.
Count on midterms to reset the political landscape, as they almost always do. And should the Democrats be able to stop their seemingly endless tendancy toward political self-immolation, their re-ascendency is just about guaranteed.
So, our allies and friends are likely just going to wait us out. A political form of shadow-boxing, if you like.
interesting.
The art of diplomacy is to get another nation to do what you want them to do. Madeline Albright
Diplomacy isn't just about friendly conversations and agreements, but also about advancing a nation's interests and achieving its objectives on the international stage. This can involve negotiation, persuasion, compromise, and sometimes even applying pressure to influence other countries' decisions and actions.
yep
I was once was a diplomat and used all of these tactics. Coercion with friends, though, should be avoided, especially when about silly and unrealistic things like landing our military plans (it is cheaper to use commercial) or buying Greenland.
Additionally, I think Trump is playing hardball to demonstrate to the world that there is a new "sheriff in town" and he is not like Joe Biden. It's grandstanding to some extent to make a point.
Ys of course. And he's making a point that a lot of our allies don't like; no one likes a bully, and especially allies & partners. Thats the point of my piece.
But as your piece also points out, people respect a bully’s "turf". I think that's Trump's point and perhaps he also wants to grow our turf(?)