The US Empire that sharpened its blade against its own pedestal
Mithu G. Parmar
It was the month of August 1945 that marked a pivotal moment in global history when the United States solidified its emergence as a hegemonic power by dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, shocking the world. Prior to this, though possessing significant influence, America had largely remained detached from major global conflicts. The end of World War II ushered in an era of U.S. dominance, shaping a new world order under its leadership.
This American-led world order has been defined by democratic values, free-market economies, international institutions, and liberal ideology. The U.S. has maintained its supremacy through a combination of cooperation, economic strategies, and at times, coercive measures. Unlike previous empires, America’s hegemony has endured for an unprecedented duration—a feat attributed by scholar John Mearsheimer to its unique position as a regional hegemon, free from immediate threats in its own backyard while projecting power globally.
Yet this American-led system, for all its achievements, contained contradictions. Washington promoted democracy while overthrowing governments in Iran, Guatemala, and Chile. It championed free trade while imposing embargoes on Cuba and Vietnam. It condemned human rights abuses while supporting dictators in Saudi Arabia and Zaire. For much of the Cold War, these inconsistencies were overlooked—the Soviet threat made U.S. leadership indispensable. But after communism’s collapse, the system’s flaws became harder to ignore.
Despite these actions, America’s global dominance remained largely unchallenged—until 2016, when a seismic shift occurred in international politics.
Read: Trump’s ‘America First’ Will Hurt US Interests
Read: The 2016 U.S. presidential election sent shockwaves across the world with the victory of Donald Trump, a populist leader whose rhetoric and policies upended traditional norms. Trump’s brand of authoritarian populism centered on hyper-nationalism, encapsulated in his slogan “Make America Great Again.” He positioned himself as the sole true representative of the American people, appealing to those disillusioned with globalization and seeking a return to U.S. supremacy.
Trump’s presidency posed a direct threat to the liberal international order. He dismissed multilateral institutions, undermined alliances, and embraced transactional diplomacy, prioritizing personal relationships over formal agreements. Trump’s “America First” doctrine represented a clean break from seven decades of bipartisan foreign policy consensus. Where his predecessors saw alliances as assets, Trump viewed them as burdens. He threatened to withdraw from NATO, demanded allies pay more for their defense, and praised authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-Un. His administration abandoned the Paris Climate Accord, the Iran nuclear deal, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership—key pillars of the liberal order. Economically, Trump waged trade wars on friend and foe alike. His tariffs on Chinese goods disrupted global supply chains, while his attacks on the World Trade Organization crippled its dispute settlement system. The moves delighted his nationalist base but alienated traditional allies and accelerated the fragmentation of the global economy. His second term in the office is again inviting new threats to the existing order.
His policies—steep tariffs, anti-immigration measures, climate change denial, and erosion of democratic norms—are fostering the domestic polarization and global instability.
One of Trump’s most damaging legacies is the U.S.-China trade war. His aggressive tariffs, described by The Economist as “ruination day,” disrupted global supply chains, are raising consumer prices, and fueling protectionism. Economists widely condemned these measures as self-defeating, yet Trump persisted, aiming to reduce the U.S. trade deficit and force manufacturing back to America. However, these policies have already to halt China’s rise—instead, they are accelerating the fragmentation of the global economic system.
Trump’s actions inadvertently are aiding China’s geopolitical ambitions. By alienating traditional allies and weakening international cooperation, he is creating space for Beijing to expand its influence. China, like Russia, operates on a sphere-of-influence model—and under Trump, the U.S. appeared less willing to counter its aggression, particularly regarding Taiwan or regional disputes with Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines.
Meanwhile, America’s internal decline became increasingly evident. Stagnant wages, crumbling infrastructure, soaring deficits, and widening inequality fueled a pervasive sense of national pessimism. Once a beacon of optimism, the U.S. now grapples with self-doubt, even as it clings to its superpower status.
Trump’s last tenure was not an anomaly but a symptom of deeper structural shifts in global power dynamics. His policies exacerbated America’s decline, hastening the transition toward a multipolar world. Whether through deliberate strategy or reckless disruption, his legacy may well be remembered as the catalyst that accelerated the end of the American-led order—leaving the world more fractured, unstable, and contested than ever before.
The American era of global leadership now stands at a precipice. For nearly eight decades, the U.S.-led international system—despite its flaws—provided relative stability, open markets, and a framework for cooperation that lifted billions from poverty. But the twin shocks of reckless foreign interventions and Trumpian nationalism have eroded this foundation, leaving the world adrift between competing visions of order.
Read: Observations of an Expat: MAGA V. Liberal Elite
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Mithu G. Parmar is a student of international Relations, University of Sindh Jamshoro.
