Throughout the ages, adventurous nations have used wars, colonisation, treaties and gunboat diplomacy to achieve their goals. Most human activity and movement is driven by survival and economics. Even the lions in the jungle migrate to greener lands rich in food. The politics is only a cover for the true economic motive for war, colonialism, imperial conquest, migration, resource grab, land grab, oil grab, gas grab, and rare earth minerals grab, today.
In centuries past, imperial powers needed to gain physical control of other people’s land to extract resources or manpower for industrialization back home. That is no longer necessary because if you colonise a country you must feed them, clothe them, provide schools and hospitals and and administer them. Thats expensive and politically unsustainable. It won’t last forever.
The Roman empire did not last forever. Neither did the British empire. The Soviet empire lasted for about 50 years. Hitler’s so called a thousand year Reich lasted only 12 years. Even the Americans know their century old global dominance is coming to an end. When exactly, no one knows., But analyst predict China will supersede the US as the number one global economic and military power in about 30 to 50 years.
In the case of Venezuela or Mexico the new imperialist certainly does not want Venezuela or Mexico to become part of the United states as that would make the whites in the US a minority overnight.
The new imperialist may want Canada as its a predominantly white country and Canada would help delay the demographic change coming to America within 20 years. Hence DJT offer of Canada becoming the 51st state.
The new imperialist does not want more mouths to feed. They want less. They dont want foreign workers in their lands, they want to retrain their own people for the new global economy, hence anti-immigration in the West. The new imperialist is predominantly interested in access to resources required to power the global 21st and 22nd century trade. The rare earth minerals for the new digital economy. They want resources. Not land. Not colonies. Not extra mouths to feed. They don’t want migrants who can reverse the demographic disposition of their country. Or vote the wrong way during elections.
Under the new world order as advocated by Donald Trump, powerful nations like the United states (Russia and China) need modern resources to shore up their economies and maintain their global supremacy.
These new wealth and resources are predominantly in the global south (poor countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America)
Under the Trump Doctrine, the US is entitled to go into any weak and poor country that threatens America’s access to its resources or that supplies its resources like oil in Venezuela to a global rival like China or Russia.
According to this doctrine, to make America great again, America needs access or control over THESE resources to sustain global economic/military dominance. America can at best hold off China for another 30 to 50 years, thereafter China becomes the global economic and military power.
Any country aiding China, especially, to superceed the US is considered a threat to America’s interest, with consequences.
According to the Trump doctrine, America will use trade, diplomacy and the dark arts to secure access. If leaders of these resource rich countries refuse to accept, then America is entitled to send in troops into the country and kidnap, kill or ‘arrest ‘ leaders. These leaders can either be handed over to their local enemies for trial( certain death penalty or summary execution) or in case of Latin America or the carribean brought to the USA for trial. Its seems these days that Latin American leaders are increasingly being accused of drug trafficking and narco terrorism and gun running. Whatever that means.
This new Trump Doctrine is wider and more encompassing than the Monroe Doctrine. It views the globe as America’s sphere of influence. Middle East, Africa, Latin and central America, Europe, Far East, near East, even Canada. But its application has been restricted mainly to weak countries rich in mineral resources or with infrastructure vital to US trade, eg Panama Canal.
The danger of this new Monroe doctrine or Trump Doctrine are these:
- Its a green light to Russia to use more brutal force to subdue Ukraine and for Putin to try seize Zolenski, the president of Ukraine, similar to Trump’s seizure of Maduro.
- Its a green light to China over Taiwan
- It may lead to a show down between China and the US over Taiwan if America says China canot take or control or unify Taiwan with PRC.
- It makes weak and poor African and global south countries rich in resources clear targets for the new imperialist.
This new Trump doctrine, its trade wars and seizure of other countries resources increases the risk of serious conflict between the US and China and the US and Russia in the years ahead.
Optimist will opine that the Donald Trump presidency has about 24 months to run. If Russia and China can contain the excesses of Trump over the next 2 years, its unlikely that the next American president, Republican or Democrat, will pursue the Trump doctrine in its fullest sense. The new president will redefine America’s role in the world, America’s interest and the extent America will go to defend its interests.
Whatever the case, the world is in for an interesting ride in 2026 and 2027.
JEI
