#BTEditorial – Manoeuvring between the US and China

Even with all its flaws the United States of America (USA) was still viewed as the world’s staunchest defender of democracy, human rights and individual freedoms. Today, there is a real reason to be concerned about the state of democratic norms in the US.

Why are we in Barbados and governments around the world watching with shock and worry at what is unfolding in the US? Simply put, the US is evolving into an animal that citizens of modern societies just do not recognise.

It was not long ago that the US State Department’s assessment of democracies and freedom of citizens to exercise their fundamental rights, would be held up as the standard by which we should be judged.

Having experienced the one-term reign of Donald J Trump as president of the USA, we are now witnessing how the mighty, moralistic nation seems to be cannibalising itself.

One of its two main political institutions, the Republican party is disintegrating into what appears to be a political group that has been held hostage by fascists, racists, and misogynists bent on undermining the will of the majority of Americans and limiting the autonomy of women over their bodies.

The current political situation in the US is not only disturbing for the millions of Americans who disagree with the direction being taken by Republicans who control the Congress and hold power across various states, but many of the USA’s closest allies are also worried.

Just days ago, France’s President Emmanuel Macron broke publicly from the US in a most unprecedented way when he urged fellow European leaders to “reduce their dependency on the US” and not blindly follow US foreign policy.

Macron, who has been touting what he describes as “strategic autonomy”, is clearly demonstrating that the USA’s influence has waned significantly.

More important, the moral authority which America has held over the rest of the world is being shredded.

The widespread acts of jerrymandering in which voting areas are realigned to significantly favour a particular political party, has become so out of control that it has allowed the Republicans in some states to have a significant hold on political power even though the populations are near evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats.

If some countries in the Caribbean were being run the way that Florida, for example, is being governed, that country would have been called out and targeted as anti-democratic by the US State Department and its leaders targeted for possible sanctions.

The apparent fall from grace by the US is nothing to celebrate, however. As our older folk remind us, the devil we know, may be better than the one we do not.

The growing global leadership vacuum that has been created by the US is being filled by alternatives such as China. The Chinese are using “development” diplomacy to establish footprints in countries that hitherto kept their distance from the Communist country.

It was ironic to read a statement published last month by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in which it assessed the state of democracy in the US in 2022.

It evaluated that the US’ democracy was “chronically ill”, that political polarisation had intensified, that “freedom of speech was in name only”, that the “judicial system was blind to public opinion”,  that the “United States’ imposition of ’democracy’ has caused chaos around the world”, and that “Americans were increasingly disillusioned with American democracy”.

All of the above may be true, but the assessment is also “rich” coming from the Chinese government which has one-party rule and a leader who is for all intents and purposes, the ruler for life.

We must ask ourselves some critical questions as we manoeuvre our way in the world politically, diplomatically and economically. How do we build such a close alliance with China which does not allow its own citizens the freedoms and human rights that we as Barbadians value.

How do we have progressive relations with a country whose government does not tolerate criticism of the state or its leadership and those who dare to do so will disappear or be imprisoned?

Can we criticize China on the world stage for not doing enough to mitigate its contribution to global warming and pollution of the air we breathe?

Can we really trust this global power?