DONALD Trump’s America First policy, which prioritises its interests and needs, is nothing new as it had existed before the American civil war over the issue of slavery.
It is actually a policy of white supremacy, as, even with emancipation the freed slaves were not granted citizenship. After the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment into law that abolished slavery, the Jim Crow laws regulated racial discrimination maintaining the white first policy. It segregated the blacks and whites, and discriminated against the blacks by restricting them to a limited range of lifestyle options. They were as good as slaves again.
In 1912, president Woodrow Wilson implemented segregation throughout the federal government services. It was only in the late 1960s that institutionalised segregation (overt discrimination) ceased, but the covert ones persist in line with the America (white) First policy. Yet, America prides itself as a First World democracy.
America First is also translated as American supremacy of all and sundry. Its hegemonic intent will not allow any other nation to challenge its supremacy in all aspects of international engagement be it in military, technology or economy.
Its bogeyman has always been communism, socialism and unfriendly dictatorships, which are seen as symbols of repression and exploitation. It arrogates upon itself the power and authority as defender of the free world democracy to confront and effect regime change.
However, its brand of democracy is not fixed on the universal principles of democracy, but rather malleable to accommodate undemocratic nations and even dictatorships that are supportive and subservient to American supremacy. This hypocritical attitude is glaringly evident in its support of the Shah of Iran, Egypt and the former corrupt south Vietnamese government, not to mention the South American countries.
To entrench its supremacy, America has embarked on a two- pronged strategy, one is military and the other economic. Its military strategy is to maintain sophisticated military assets, including nuclear arsenals and to supply these arms to countries fighting its proxy wars, such as Israel or clandestine rebel groups that serve America’s hegemonic interests or to be directly involved in regime change as in Iraq and Afghanistan. It provides billions of dollars of aid to Egypt to keep the country in line with its Middle Eastern agenda.
On the economic front, the US has used various modes to subvert and threaten nations that do not toe its line such as imposing sanctions on them. It will not tolerate any nation that challenges its hegemonic position. This is evident in its confrontation with China — the emerging economic giant that will rival America’s economic strength. It has engaged in trade tariff confrontation with China and flaunted its extraterritorial might by detaining the chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of the owner of digital giant, Huawei, through the Canadian authorities when she was in transit at Vancouver airport for allegedly violating sanctions against Iran.
In retaliation, China detained two Canadian nationals. America is thumping its economic and military power and influence by warning European nations not to use Huawei technology. Australia and New Zealand, its two eastern allies, have followed America’s bidding.
In fact, America leads a cohort of countries, namely Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Canada, that share its hypocritical democratic façade and in shoring up and maintaining its hegemonic interests. They were the first ones to send troops to Iraq to effect regime change in ousting president Saddam Hussein on the false pretence of having weapons of mass destruction.
The US has always imposed its supremacy in the United Nations through its monetary contributions to the organisation and its other agencies. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, it has exercised its veto power on resolutions critical of its unilateral actions as well as those that are unfavourable to its allies, especially Israel. To this effect, it has withdrawn funding from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, terminated aid for Palestinian refugees and also withdrawn from the Iran Nuclear Deal Framework.
America has always used its economic power and military strengths to subdue countries that confront it; Iran is a classic example. Now the US is trying to impose its authority and might on China using tariffs on Chinese products, preventing Chinese investments in US strategic companies and applying sanctions to stall Chinese economic advances that would eventually surpass the US economy.
It employs both legal and illegal means to assert its supremacy through humanitarian aid, military coercion, unilateral sanctions and actions, all of which are abetted by its staunch western and eastern allies who are complicit in promoting America’s hegemonic agenda.
Suffice to say, Trump’s America First is part of a ruse to serve America’s hegemonic agenda. It tries to put up a facade of an exemplary democracy, as the leader of the free world, and as a nation concerned with humanitarian principles.
The writer is with the Centre for Policy Research and International Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang