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A rehearsal takes place at the US Capitol ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, in Washington, DC, on January 12. [Reuters]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
In a week\u2019s time we will know whether Donald Trump upheld his \u201cpromise\u201d to shock and awe the world on the first day of his second presidency. He has said that among his first decrees will be curbs on immigration (including mass deportations), imposing high tariffs, ending the war in Ukraine, and raining \u201chell\u201d on Hamas if it does not release its Israeli hostages by inauguration day. We don\u2019t know if he will stick to this schedule, as he and aides have been saying lately that they may need a bit more time to plan these interventions. Nor do we know whether Trump will pardon supporters who took part in the violent takeover of the Capitol four years ago, an uprising for which the main instigator \u2013 Trump \u2013 has not been held accountable. We will know all this soon. What we already know, though, is that the world is changing most rapidly. Among these changes is the end of a sense of a \u201cWest.\u201d And it is not only Trump and the movement that brought him to power that are to blame.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In this new era, it will be a dangerous illusion to expect justice in global governance and in relations between states, nations and social groups. From Trump\u2019s recent statements, it is clear that the United States will promote their own interests as they see fit, even at the expense of allies\u2019 sovereignty, without ruling out the use of military force. A fundamental idea of the West was that countries which adopted liberal democracy would spread these ideas, so that democracy and the ideas of the Enlightenment could reach ever more parts of the planet. The \u201cWest\u2019s\u201d victory in the Cold War, and the prosperity that followed China\u2019s joining the World Trade Organization (in 2001), however, led to the arrogance of leaders who did not prepare their societies, nor the framework of global political and economic governance, for the changes that globalization would bring.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was not an easy task, as electoral cycles in the West are much shorter than the management of such major issues demands. Today, though, we are confronted with the consequences of the lack of any effort to prepare us for what we are dealing with. The results are evident, from the climate crisis to the rise of extremist political forces in ever more countries. We see it also in the wars in which civilians are on the front line.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everywhere, politics is regressing rather than adapting to face existential challenges. Social media networks undermine the truth, and, consequently, any hope of consensus. And humanity is rushing headlong into an embrace with artificial intelligence. Where will we be in four years?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n