At the close of the world war following Japans defeat with the miracle-weapon" the United States emerged as the Superpower". Previous history has not known a superpower" only great powers". Superpower" is a word in the singular and Great Powers" is a plural. The designation describes equals. It suggests an equality shared on a high level and a relative superiority compared to the clubs non-members.
After Hiroshima the USA accomplished what no entity has achieved in history. It was the ability to assert total global control due to a capacity to totally destroy any foe regardless of his location. Accordingly had America been willing to exploit her means she needed no allies. The determined use of the nuclear monopoly against rivals would have guaranteed her continued world supremacy.
Instead of securing her hegemony the USA strived to stick to her wartime allies. American preponderance did not become despotic American dominance. Not the resistance of others but the countrys traditions and her internal order explain the matter. Only once Moscow invalidated the assumptions of cooperative coexistence did Washington respond with new defensive associations of like-minded nations.
Here two unique features stand out. One is that the nuclear monopoly remained unexploited. Throughout the US has not only been a benign power she was also a well-meaning superpower. The other is that the alliances sustained the autonomy of their lesser members and did not degrade them to satellites. The United Nations are an expression of the desire for political collective security -instead of a power-based one. Even more NATO-like constructions illustrate the preference for collective security over unilateral dominance.
From the outset NATO has been a compact of inequal components. Reflecting her size and a favorable geography the US carried more than her share of the common burden. In doing so the sovereignty of the small members was preserved; their individual and collective influence had been notably greater than their contribution to the common cause. Quite amazing if we consider precedents. The more so as although America had an interest in the survival of a democratic Europe her existence unlike that of her allies did not depend of the treaties.
At present the NATO alliance reflecting developments within the European Union -her political analogy- is undergoing a realignment. NATO the EU and the transatlantic relationship are being rattled by quakes. The likely upshot will not be dissolution but a reemergence in an altered form.
The upheavals within the Atlantic Alliance (AA) exceed the space of an article. The migration crisis comes to mind then the 2019 EU elections likely outcome stands out because it will remove its hither managers. Here however the focus is to be on Germanys internal order and its international ramifications.
Germany is the AAs key continental European pillar. Alas the countrys foreign policy suffers from irrational impulses. These undermine the effort to purse her national interest while they also destabilize the alliance.
Post-war Germanys enjoyed guaranteed security; an economic success resulted. That created ample means to finance projects that range from the sensible to the fanciful. This ability amplified the desire to recast the atonement seeking country in a new role and to reset her national history. Accordingly Germans preferred to be known as Europeans" and not as Germans" an endeavor that responded to two factors. One Germans wished to prove that they had separated from their nations past. Two a need to compensate the victims of brutality committed in the name of all Germans was to be acted upon. Both goals influence traditional parties. It is a part of this self-cleansing that subconsciously that nation ignores that the rational conduct of a communitys affairs demands that the national interest be acted upon. Alas the admission that there is a national interest is suspect. Acknowledging it and that is to be defended provokes illogical associations. It makes national interest" equal chauvinism" that then passes through aggression" before it ends with Nazi".
This extrapolation explains why Germany given the view of her political class is an unstable ally. Any entity that holds that its defense is morally wrong is a factor of instability. The complexes that reflect the guilt of antecedents explain why Germany hides behind shielding formations. These let her proceed in the shadow of those that feel sufficiently self-confident -or unashamed- to be counted. Berlins subservience to Paris which lacks the means but possesses the conceit and then the support of eurocracy" express the abashed desire to avoid center stage.
Taken as a whole the German case is not unique for Old Europe". It is if the desire to atone is overlooked an example of an ideology-bound welfare-state oriented and illusion-driven moral posturing that prefers to avoid the pursuit of the possible.
These complexes filter the world through the favorite colors of the Left-Green-tinted ruling elite. On the path towards moral world-championship" the prevailing illusion is that security and independence are a natural condition that is to be had for bribes that cheer third-world dictators. Such moralizing might conform to the consensus of the political class. However denying the world as it is will not alter its features.
The virulent rejection of whatever Trump says or undertakes does not constitute a realistic rebuff of POTUS measures hair style or tweeting. What we get is a reaction to a challenge to the managers of the common veal. It comes from new formations of which Trump is a part without being unique in the context of the New Europe".
The confused reaction of the embattled political class is exemplified by its rebuke of two leaders perceived as threats to its ability to continue as before". Hungarys Premier Orbn Trump before Trump" (Bannon) - is a founding member of New Europe". More Orbns are in the pipeline that passes through Old Europe". While the PMs policies are copied under the duress of masses that desert" their leaders" he shares with the President the charge of undermining the worlds order.
Note this regarding the Trump factor": Contested Old Europe" does not like -has never liked- the protector it needs. Yet it is unwilling to fend for itself while it cheers as a symbol of virtue its inability to have much to offer in the bare knuckles area. Except for the US it is unlikely to find a protector that that will not exploit it.
America First" appears to be the statement of the obvious; a governments task is to put the communitys enlightened interest first. Even MAGA does not imply an intention to devastate others. In fact the cause of fruitful negotiation is furthered if its parties are aware of their own interests and cognizant of those of their opposites.
Threatened by coming votes the EUs traditional components especially Germany have reason to assert that as Merkel put it there is no alternative" to the elites course. The responding Alternative for Germany" party (AfD) is gaining and matches the governing coalitions socialist participant. The result is dogged resistance to the foreseen bitter end. As a socialist foreign policy-maker put it The public expects us to respond to (Trumps) constant provocations. We have to redefine our relationship to the USA" and need to support those there that wish to hold on to the traditional relationship". This is followed by protesting that America intends to strengthen conservative forces" -of the kind that already govern the New Europe".
Let the word redefine" be picked out of the cacophony of an ailing alliances controversies. Indeed a redefinition might be called for. Without abandoning the traditional framework of the AA it is warranted that responding to the facts old policies be remodeled. Americas national interest is to have allies determined to engage in their own behalf. These are located in what has been called here the New Europe" consisting of the V4 (Poland the Czech Republic Slovakia Hungary) the Baltic states then Austria probably Britain Switzerland and soon Italy. This growing fraction within the Alliance deserves bilaterally expressed supportive recognition that will help to widen its sway.
A new world order is emerging and some countries are sufficiently far-sighted to pursue policies that fit and make the trend. In the pursuit of the same goal America needs not to feel isolated - if only its internal party-politics will allow it to head the process. That is one of the stakes of the coming mid-terms.
