-By Riya Karan
With the decline of the Soviet Union in 1991 we had a clear winner and hegemony of America calling the world a declared unipolar society. Everything and everyone was in the grip of the American economy and military. They could run the world how they want to, do whatever they wish with the world’s resources and no one challenged their authority. And with the rise of America, we saw the rise of anarchy in the international system. Less fear in the West and more control in their hands. There was a clear imbalance. They were united and they had a single interest, the goodwill of the West as a whole and its hegemony.
This utopia where the West thought that the world is theirs did not last long. Decades later we witnessed chaos and anxiety in NATO since the interests of other Western countries stopped getting aligned with America. There were clashes in interests and goals and then Trump won the elections for the second time.
He came as brash and open. Open with the “America First” campaign. He stirred the world with tariffs, invasions, pulling out from global organizations and treaties. He bashes Ukraine and eyes its resources at the same time. His administration doesn’t wish to make peace possible between Ukraine and Russia come true but wants to nominate Trump for the Nobel Prize stating how he ensured the ceasefire in eight conflicts in eleven months including Operation Sindoor.
Bizarre with his claims and watching his grip on the world slipping away, there had to be something done in order to declare their brazenness and hegemony.
So, what did a country with the top economy and top military do? They attacked a sovereign state, Venezuela. And no one from NATO dared to challenge this. If this would have been a non-Western country exercising their will against a smaller sovereign nation, it would have set the chairs of NATO leaders on fire. There would be sanctions, boycotts, structured isolation and years-long stagnation just like what happened with the land of Catherine.
The world is no longer struggling in the 17th and 18th century; Europe does not have colonies, nor navies that surpass the Asian navies. Time has changed and South and East Asian countries have moved forward from the colonial past and have made their way to life and development and African nations are catching up.
Europe lost its glory after the Second World War and by the formation of NATO it was clear who serves what purpose in the world and who stands where in the present global framework. The basic theory of remaining a strong nation and influential is simple: a state must be politically stable, must have a stronger military, both backed by an even stronger economy. Europe gave up its military and security into the hands of America citing Article 5 of the NATO declaration charter.
You purposely surrendered yourself to the land which will not hesitate killing millions of innocent citizens and exercising nuclear power capabilities; that might have sounded strategic back in the 1960s but not anymore.
This proves one thing: no matter how ahead we get in time the core idea of human interest and behavior that influences the international system remains the same. Hans Morgenthau, when he said that “politics is governed by objective laws that have their roots in a perpetually self-interested and power-seeking human nature,” was not only right but also accurate.
No matter how sophisticatedly we speak of idealism and liberalism and think it is the right way to govern, we will be thrown back to the core living principles of the human race that is classical realism.
Leaving the idea of ownership of land and resources behind is alone foolish and too utopian. Such things will remain on paper; to be a nation that needs to fulfill its national interests must project hard power which comes from military, economy and political leadership that again comes from land and resources. John Lennon’s “Imagine” song is a work of fiction and desire not reality; some in Europe thought it was their anthem.
Europe suffers from a mental disorder; it is called a superiority complex. Back in the days they wanted to civilize the world by colonizing it. Now they want to preach to the world about climate, democratic values, idealism, humanism, universal rights and more without touching the grass that tells the tale of reality.
Europe tried to be the world’s ‘Green Conscience,’ but in doing so, it forgot to be a ‘Global Competitor.’ By 2026, the Green Deal has become an economic suicide note. You cannot lead a global transition if you are too poor to fund your own research and too paralyzed to run your own factories. Europe isn’t just ‘going green’; it’s going out of business.
Europe failed to read the room in the global household; it failed to recognize that the world is going multipolar and there is no longer one axis of power. There shall be major powers or regional powers or one superpower but all serving their own interest. Acting in the direction that serves their people and purpose, all these powers have been investing heavily in their military budget, keeping their population trained enough to fight and their treasury filled and locked.
The bubble that “American daddy” will be the proctor has busted with the demand for Greenland by US President Donald Trump who stated that the United States of America will not shy away from using hard power in order to gain access to the island and going by their track record and current military pack action in Venezuela, the world knows it is very possible.
Trump’s statement in regard to Greenland where he cites national security proves a thing or two from the textbook of classical geopolitics. Trump’s reasoning for having Greenland as part of the USA is simple: it will help them to do better surveillance on Russia’s and China’s presence in the Arctic and second, the need for rare earth minerals and resources shall be fulfilled.
This reminds me of “The Organic Theory of State” by Friedrich Ratzel who described the state as a living organism which needs to grow and expand territory. The concept of Lebensraum or living space which on an everyday basis needs resources. He applied Darwin’s evolution to geography. He believed that strong states naturally grow, and weak states naturally shrink and disappear. If a state isn’t growing, it is stagnating and dying.
He argued that smaller nations will be cultivated and merged with the bigger ones without any regret either by force or proposal and we can see the similar thing happening with the Greenland scenario.
The statement by the Danish Prime Minister sounded more like a precaution, more of a prevention when she states America is a historical ally. The fall of NATO is near and Greenland is on sale and Europe is watching helplessly. Any denial and any action against America and they will pay the debts in dead bodies and ruins of the cultural atmosphere.
Which brings me to say, in the 21st century, the world does not catch a cold when France sneezes. Times have flipped and they are different; we all are here to witness the multipolar neo-Cold War era beginning.
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