On March 20, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion on the US position as a world leader and the impact on this status of the policy of the administration of Donald Trump. During the discussion were considered the main problems of American foreign policy, the US position within the modern system of international relations, and the peculiarities of the work of the current administration.
The following speakers participated in the discussion: Professor of the Dartmouth College William Wolforth, Associate Professor of the MGIMO-University Ivan Safranchuk, Program Director of the Valdai Club Foundation, Senior Lecturer of the HSE Dmitry Suslov, President of the Eurasian Strategies Agency, Program Director of the Valdai Club Foundation Andrey Sushentsov.
All participants agreed that for the moment the US has superiority over other global players, primarily in terms of resource support. At the same time, there is an obvious and steady decline in the role of the United States in the world, which occurs in parallel with the strengthening of the power of other powers, primarily China and Russia. They are not going to transform in accordance with the views of the United States and are able to push the American influence away from its borders.
Recognizing that there is no global withdrawal of the United States from leadership in the world, the experts formulated an answer to one of the key questions of the debate: is the current US strategy on the world stage a continuation of revisionism, in which the American world order is actively established, or are they trying to preserve the world’s established status quo. In their opinion, the US transition from attempts to establish its world order to preserve the status quo occurred, and even before Trump came to power.
As William Wolforth noted, the current administration in Washington has accelerated the trajectory of the US’s decline in its role in the world arena and demonstrates a more determined desire to preserve the status quo. But, according to the American expert, this correction does not mean a US refusal of leadership. “Only one country in the world can be called a superpower, and this is the United States,” he stressed.
Ivan Safranchuk noted that the United States missed a unique chance to strengthen its global leadership. According to him, after the end of the Cold War, the US was the only leader, and everyone expected that they would act in the common interest. But Washington could not balance its and the world’s agenda. As a result, there were doubts about the usefulness of the US military “club” and the goals with which the US is using it. In modern realities, the expert does not see the conditions for expansionist American leadership and the opportunity for the US to remain the leader of the status quo.
Attempt to adapt the US to a world that changes against their will, Dmitry Suslov explained the policy of the US administration. In his opinion, the US made a choice in favor of confrontation with Russia and China. This explains the sharp increase in the containment of the two countries. However, the policy of global confrontation will not work, the expert believes. The US should agree either to co-exist with other countries, or to build a new world order along with them.
Russian experts drew attention to a general request to turn the US from a superpower into a “normal country,” which, in particular, does not prevent the regional powers from pursuing their policies. They also called for preventing an escalation on the path to building a new world order.
Andrey Sushentsov expressed the hope that world leaders will come to realize the fragility of the world. According to him, the development of technologies and other global changes may challenge the fact that the world is ruled by great powers.
On March 20, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion on the US position as a world leader and the impact on this status of the policy of the administration of Donald Trump. During the discussion were considered the main problems of American foreign policy, the US position within the modern system of international relations, and the peculiarities of the work of the current administration.
The following speakers participated in the discussion: Professor of the Dartmouth College William Wolforth, Associate Professor of the MGIMO-University Ivan Safranchuk, Program Director of the Valdai Club Foundation, Senior Lecturer of the HSE Dmitry Suslov, President of the Eurasian Strategies Agency, Program Director of the Valdai Club Foundation Andrey Sushentsov.
All participants agreed that for the moment the US has superiority over other global players, primarily in terms of resource support. At the same time, there is an obvious and steady decline in the role of the United States in the world, which occurs in parallel with the strengthening of the power of other powers, primarily China and Russia. They are not going to transform in accordance with the views of the United States and are able to push the American influence away from its borders.
Recognizing that there is no global withdrawal of the United States from leadership in the world, the experts formulated an answer to one of the key questions of the debate: is the current US strategy on the world stage a continuation of revisionism, in which the American world order is actively established, or are they trying to preserve the world’s established status quo. In their opinion, the US transition from attempts to establish its world order to preserve the status quo occurred, and even before Trump came to power.
As William Wolforth noted, the current administration in Washington has accelerated the trajectory of the US’s decline in its role in the world arena and demonstrates a more determined desire to preserve the status quo. But, according to the American expert, this correction does not mean a US refusal of leadership. “Only one country in the world can be called a superpower, and this is the United States,” he stressed.
Ivan Safranchuk noted that the United States missed a unique chance to strengthen its global leadership. According to him, after the end of the Cold War, the US was the only leader, and everyone expected that they would act in the common interest. But Washington could not balance its and the world’s agenda. As a result, there were doubts about the usefulness of the US military “club” and the goals with which the US is using it. In modern realities, the expert does not see the conditions for expansionist American leadership and the opportunity for the US to remain the leader of the status quo.
Attempt to adapt the US to a world that changes against their will, Dmitry Suslov explained the policy of the US administration. In his opinion, the US made a choice in favor of confrontation with Russia and China. This explains the sharp increase in the containment of the two countries. However, the policy of global confrontation will not work, the expert believes. The US should agree either to co-exist with other countries, or to build a new world order along with them.
Russian experts drew attention to a general request to turn the US from a superpower into a “normal country,” which, in particular, does not prevent the regional powers from pursuing their policies. They also called for preventing an escalation on the path to building a new world order.
Andrey Sushentsov expressed the hope that world leaders will come to realize the fragility of the world. According to him, the development of technologies and other global changes may challenge the fact that the world is ruled by great powers.
