and geo-political shifts, within a background of globalisation in terms of politics, economics and travel. Given these interconnections, nationalistic rumblings and naked power-plays are at variance with the appropriate solutions for pandemics and other global challenges.
Unfortunately therefore for the world, a devastating pandemic has become wedged in this toxic and turbulent world chess game playing out in real time where the key players are an incompetent wannabe strong man, a budding super-power with antiquated political decision making structure, an unscrupulous has-been and a fragmented supra-state.
On the international front, rather than helping to build the peace process after the First World War, the US retreated into isolationism and gave birth to the America First mantra. We are also seeing a change of global leadership, partly as China muscles its way to a leading position but also, as Trump fritters away the US’s lead.
American politicians, particularly Republicans, have instead invested a disproportionate amount of their budgets on the military. China’s rush to world dominance is no doubt related to its humiliation in the 19th and 20th century by Western powers and Japan. A similar pattern is building up in the other countries jostling for prominence, a toxic trend that is caused and/fuelled by developments in the two super-powers. The new normal does not bode well for the world as a whole.
Indeed his steadfast support among the 40% of the electorate, 80% of Republicans, means that his base has been completely hoodwinked and/or completely motivated by tribalism, no doubt a position reinforced by the falsehoods that are put out in his campaign literature and social media feeds that are consumed by his supporters.