A World of Singular, Multi Hegemons or A World of Equals?!
APR 01, 2024
Great powers or those that seek to become a hegemony and dominate over all the remaining powers do not exist haphazardly; they emerge and bring forth dilemmas and suffering for majority of those involved. All the slogans they use whether they state they are for ‘Non Interference, human rights, democracy, governance, anti corruption, rule o law, etc ' are meant as a means to promote for that great power 'Wanna Be Hegemon; as in the case of China, Clinging to an Aliening Empire as in the case of America' , as a branding tactic to set itself apart from those they are competing with. And they demand from those they interact with the same that George Bush demanded from the world after the '11 September 2001 Attacks; You are either with us or against us.'
In the past few days I went through few lectures that discuss and analyze how the Sino-American Competition affects countries around the world; and which is for the greater good of the nations around the world.
Lots of scholars had written about and spoken that current weakening of West and in particular America is due to that after the collapse of the Soviet Union; America was under the illusion that the Western World Order where it is the only ‘Hegemon’ and there will not emerge powers that would threaten and dismantle its supremacy.
Another mistake committed by America was that it sought after the end of the cold war to weaken EU and NATO; not recognizing that is what its adversaries were aiming for. After Afghanistan withdrawal and Ukraine war EU realized that USA is less of an ally and it must strengthen its own capabilities in anticipation of similar future scenario’s.
There is a Ted-Talk that I have written about for Ian Bremmer ‘ The Next Global Superpower Isn't Who You Think | Ian Bremmer ‘ and it discusses some of such issues and that much USA used to promote about itself around the world is diminishing.
In a lecture titled ‘ The United States, China, and the Future of the Global Order’ Professors Orville Schell and Kishore Mahbubani discuss the implications of USA and China competition. Professor Kishore Mahbubani is not naive to paint China as a civilization that is reestablishing itself as the ancient great civilization it once was, same goes with the United States of America which professor Orville Schell is describing as an alternative for ensuring China does not morphosis into another Soviet Union that annihilate all that oppose it.
China has colonial and imperial ambitions just as worse as all powers in the past, present or in the future and there are those that lack its capabilities that prepare it to occupy such role to displace or oppose those that currently hold such post. China does not place much regard to get along with nation X and Z, it amassed wealth and power and exert them to build its ‘Imagined Empire’ and it updated its policies from non interference to military intervention for those that threaten its world domination ambitions.
Asia is rich in resources, but not rich enough to supply the steadily growing demand. It needs water, food, minerals and energy to continue its rapid growth. Forced to look for raw materials, this growing economic power is investing in Oceania, Indonesia, sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Central Asia. Driving the colonial race This has formed a third “colonial race”, this time led by China, not Britain or France. As the demand for resources increases, a colonial power starts to emerge. The typical characteristics of a rising colonial power can already be seen in China’s preference to start its interactions closer to home. Nearby Indonesia and Oceania are the primary recipients of Chinese investment and interest due to their massive mining industries. China’s secondary sphere of interest includes sub-Saharan Africa and South America.
Susan Shirk, former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state in an interview and lecture titled ‘Overreach: How China Derailed its Peaceful Rise’ with Kevin Rudd Former Prime Minister and Professor Orville Schell, Arthur Ross director of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations discusses how China had diverged from the ‘Political Course’, and how at a point of her scholarly and research work on China was one of the happiest experiences as people’s lives were improving economically that was predicated and how President Xi had grown into ‘Authoritarian Figure’, she goes on saying that this descend of China into this current state was not inevitable and not as result of China’s growing strength ‘Economically and Military’ and due to choices made by Chinese policy makers.
President Xi Jinping has moved away from former the era of President Hu Jintao policy of restraint which is exemplified both internally as excessive control over society along its access to information and externally as across the South China Sea. The unprecedented corruption during the Hu Jintao era, leadership crisis and other crises as with ‘ East Japan Sea’ Islands, and this gave rise to President Xi Jinping as an stronger alternative.
Kevin Rudd Former Prime Minister states that as professor Susan Shirk claims they witnessed a change in Chinese operational posture that led Australian government to produce a defense white paper that publicly attacked China change military budget and its posture.
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Professor Susan Shirk says that the Xi Jinping regime is unstable as it amassed all this power in one figure without any form of collective leadership without poser sharing from the remaining factions within the Chinese Communist Party and the creation of a ‘Fear Machine’ that those who align with the system fulfill the wishes and orders of president Xi Jinping to the extreme as a form of loyalty without informing him accurately of the ramifications and costs of his policies ‘International Backlash, massive unemployment due to dismantling the private sector and the extreme zero COVID19 policies’ and and his loyalist do not give him real information for fear of that what happened to their colleagues during his so called ‘Anti Corruption’ purge will occur to them. She goes on saying that none can predict the future of president Xi Jinping regime with its current state off affairs it will not last that long.
Professor Susan Shirk shares the same views as professor Stephen Kotkin that president Xi Jinping became China’s supreme leader to save and rescue China from falling into the same fate of the former Soviet Union. He also outlines how Chinese regime to prevent being threatened by the private sector it will dismantle it. Professor Stephen Kotkin states that everyday for the communist party is existential unlike other democracies in particular Western democracies that can bounce back from any setback and is resilient.
Dr. Steve Tsang in an interview discusses a book he co-authored with Dr. Olivia Cheung ‘The Political Thought of Xi Jinping’ he says president Xi Jinping doctrine an be summarized as ‘To make China Great Again’, and it does not follow Confucianism, it is a doctrine created by president Xi Jinping that revolves around him.
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