Australia’s ‘national interest’ falters in the face of Trump’s lawlessness

Australian leaders proclaimed a rules-based international order but remained conspicuously silent when the world’s most powerful ally trampled it, writes Mark Beeson.

If there is one thing we can be sure of in moments of national or international uncertainty, it is that politicians will begin to prioritize national interests.

Although generally ill-defined, useful all-encompassing token for everything our leaders want us to believe about ourselves and the world we live in. It also serves as a substitute for having to really think about a rapidly evolving geopolitical universe.

To be fair, the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at least he tried lay down some principles This should guide Australian foreign policy. In principle they are admirable; in practice these are likely to be scrupulously ignored. Either way, they are currently subject to a search warrant by the President of the United States. Donald Trumpwho doesn’t care rule of law or America’s self-appointed role in preserving international diversity.

The kidnapping of another country’s elected leader is contrary to the most fundamental principles of international law and the principles of conduct that the United Nations exemplifies and seeks to promote. That’s right, Trump belittling the UN it also, but at least, represents a possible basis for international cooperation, which is currently conspicuous by its absence. It is also an institution that Australia helped establish when it was in creative middle power mode.

As Albanese rightly points out Last address to the UNOne of the greatest threats to the international community’s ability to work cooperatively to deal with a range of old and new problems is “Oppressors who invade sovereign nations to further their own ambitions.”. The Trump Administration is now revealing how true this claim is. The key question for the Australian Government is how it will respond to a regime that is arguably both the greatest threat to global security and our principal strategic ally.

Some readers may think that Russia and Israel should be viewed as greater dangers to international peace, given that both are locked in long-running wars and/or genocidal policies aimed at eliminating historical enemies. But the self-styled president of peace could actually do something about these abominations if he wasn’t so keen. give comfort to their respective architects.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Trump is now showing a similar eagerness to use his unique and highly effective coercive power to achieve national goals. In the case of Venezuela, he openly acknowledges that America’s actions are largely motivated by a desire to exploit Venezuela’s resources. possible benefit Trump himself, his supporters and friends. The world should not be surprised or shocked by this outcome; It was his after all. modus operandi since returning to power.

Our Prime Minister also told the UN: “If we had the luxury of imagining that violations of international law were none of our business, or that conflict and turmoil elsewhere in the world would not affect us, those days are long gone.”. Quite so.

Given such principled statements, we might expect Albanians to be at the forefront of leaders condemning the unilateral takeover of another sovereign state, no matter who rules it. Except for a handful of Venezuela’s jittery neighbors, full-throated accusations against the world’s most powerful rogue state are conspicuous by their absence.

Apparently the Australian Government “follow the developmentsEncouraging dialogue and diplomacy… Albanese is not alone in his crushing cowardice: Many world leaders choose their words carefully, afraid of offending a president who harbors grudges and cannot tolerate even the slightest criticism.

Despite Albanians claiming to want a world we could live in, there was not even the slightest possibility that anyone from the Australian Government or Opposition would say anything negative. “Build a world where rights and rules prevail, not fear and coercion, and where the sovereignty of every nation is respected.”. Except, apparently, in countries that Americans don’t like.

These are not cheap talk about a government (and, apparently, a country) that, no matter what it does and whoever runs it, cannot imagine any other world than one in which we support and trust America. Even in our humble middle-power style, such obedience and silence comfort despots everywhere.

This could also provide an opportunity for China. big opportunity “claiming sovereignty” over Taiwan, which it sees as an internal matter and part of its sphere of influence. This would be a historical irony of breathtaking proportions, given that our entire security strategy hinges on helping Americans deter China from acting aggressively or undermining the regional status quo.

But there are some hopeful exceptions to the culture of loyalty and conformity that pervades this country and its leaders.

Greens Senator David Shobridge then he spoke on behalf of a growing number of people in question:

“Australia must urgently re-evaluate its relationship with the US, which has previously sold out to shared values of democracy and the international rules-based order. That relationship, if it ever existed, is now in tatters. This is a timely moment to start moving US troops and bases out of Australia and not to double down on AUKUS, but to gain military and economic independence from the US.”

Quite so. I don’t believe Shoebridge even has a chance of facilitating a serious, open-ended discussion about our relationship with the United States, but it shows that some people can think the unthinkable. Maybe if the US invades Greenland continues to threatenAttitudes may change in this country, if not among the political elite, at least among “ordinary” people.

But perhaps we can imagine a different basis for international politics and national interests that privileges cooperation among the world’s less powerful and justifiably tense states. ‘Coalition of the reluctant’ including the European Union ASEAN, Mercosur and the African Union, for example, could refuse to cooperate with major powers determined to carve up the world into former spheres of influence where they could act as they pleased.

Perhaps Australia could even set a good international example by following Senator Shoebridge’s sage advice. Linking national interests to international diversity and cooperating with similarly situated states can in fact be no worse than continuing policies and practices that we hoped would fall out of favor a century ago.

But as Donald Trump reminds us, we can never underestimate the power of self-interest or stupidity.

Mark Beeson is an adjunct professor at the University of Technology Sydney and Griffith University. He was previously Professor of International Politics at the University of Western Australia.

Support independent journalism Subscribe to IA.