Why UK must resist Donald Trump's plot to create vassal states to 'exceptional' America
No one should underestimate the historic shift in international relations that Donald Trump is attempting to achieve. He is essentially trying to rip up ideas laid out in the 1648 Peace of Westphalia
Donald Trump is the most destructive force in world politics. This is best understood by reflecting on two key issues of sovereignty and American exceptionalism. His interpretation of both aggrandises himself and the US.
He is a president acting like a king with a divine right to rule and seeking to impose the most extreme and distorted version of US power upon the world. This poses a unique threat to internationally accepted definitions of sovereignty, collective security, territorial integrity and the balance of power between countries.
We could be witnessing a historic shift. The Peace of Westphalia, signed in 1648, brought to an end the 30 Years’ War in Europe and laid the foundations for international diplomacy for nearly 400 years. The essence of the peace treaty was to provide a new system of political order based upon the concept of coexisting sovereign states and a recognition that they had the right to decide their own fate. This is now reflected in Article 2 of the United Nations Charter.
Ending the carnage of war
Respect was part of that deal. In his book, Does America Need a Foreign Policy, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote: “The Treaty of Westphalia reflected a general determination to put an end to carnage once and for all.” He added: “The doctrine of non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other countries became one of the keystones, together with notions of sovereignty and international law regulating the conduct of states in their relations with each other.”
Trump’s menacing behaviour clearly lacks respect for other states and can no longer be explained away by the comforting advice offered by some to “take him seriously, but not literally”.
There is a powerful message here for the UK Government in its dealings with Trump. Seeking compromises with him may have short-term benefits but clinging to the fraying ‘Special Relationship’ with the US could turn it into a ‘surrender relationship’ and may alienate our EU allies.
There is real political and economic trauma ahead if we allow this rogue president to shape the UK’s prospects. Solidarity with Europe is key to our future. This is not the time to go silent on Trump when allies like the EU and also Canada are being trashed by Trump and his government, with offensive remarks about “freeloading” and being “pathetic”.
Mathew 16: 26 captures the dangers of going quietly along with those such as Trump: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul?”
‘Vassal states’
The US President is intent on wrecking global trade through his use of tariffs. Revenge and resentment, fear and hate are all essential ingredients of this assault on the wider world.
The Peace of Westphalia sought to end the concept of ‘vassal states’, but this is the ultimate outcome of Trump’s strategy for smaller countries – political serfdom. Trump is basically rejecting Westphalia by failing to recognise the sovereignty and boundaries of other nation states.
This leads Trump to behave in ways that seem strange to the discerning global public, as he mixes score-settling, isolationism, expansionism and nationalism with a series of attempted business transactions.
For Ukraine, that means demands for its valuable minerals. For Israel, it means a green light to ignore international laws and continue the massacre of innocent children, the creation of a Gaza “Riviera” and the forced removal of Palestinians.
For Greenland, it means the humiliation of Denmark, an EU member, with the supposed aim of bolstering US defence. For the UK , the ask is essentially to surrender tax sovereignty, remove the digital services tax from US Big Tech and turn a blind eye to interference in our elections without response.
In this, Trump is acting like Putin, who is trying to build new empires of interest embracing defence, energy, finance, trade and territory.
A sense of complete superiority
Since the ratification of the US Constitution in 1789, America has made approximately 30 acquisitions of territory. Trump’s idea is to extend US sovereignty even further through a strategy of global hegemony that ignores the views of others and destabilises established institutions and patterns of international cooperation. In reality, Trump is declaring independence from the global system.
The idea of ‘American exceptionalism’ is also key to understanding Trump, which leads naturally to a sense of complete superiority. Similar to patriotism and nationalism, exceptionalism has become a powerful component of America’s DNA which means paying only lip service to international agreements, courts and the United Nations and that the US can ignore or tear up treaties as it sees fit.
Americans have long believed their history is unique, a view shared by Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg address. And some outsiders have agreed. In 1835, French diplomat Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in Democracy in America: “The position of America is quite exceptional and it may be believed that no democratic people will ever be placed in a similar one.”
In a similar vein, Dick Cheney, former US Vice President, wrote a book called Why the World Needs a powerful America. Ronald Reagan and John F Kennedy both used the phrase the “shining city on the hill”.
New alliances necessary
History shows the US thinks it can act with impunity because of this overwhelming sense of moral superiority that condemns other countries to remain passive recipients of whatever is passed down to them, while unique America lives by its own rules.
In the words of Trump’s inaugural address: ”We will be a nation like no other, full of compassion, courage, and exceptionalism. Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent, and totally unpredictable.”
Trump has taken exceptionalism to new and extreme levels and the world must recognise this heightened level of threat and act accordingly. This will require new alliances of common interests and a repudiation of Trump’s attempts to destroy Westphalian principles.
Henry McLeish is a former First Minister of Scotland
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