Binarization of World Affairs: Who lost NAM?

Byline: Prof. Anis H. Bajrektarevi

As the present world order weakens, the mega confrontations have appeared more likely: On its post-Soviet revival quest, Russia becomes increasingly assertive in Euro-MED theatre and beyond. The SinoAmerican relations are increasingly adversarial, with escalating frictions over trade, advanced technology, human rights, and global strategic influence. Currently, both sides A as president of the US Council of Foreign Relations Richard Haass states A `are developing scenarios for a possible war'.

The two countries' rhetoric has grown so hostile that its speed and severity is unprecedented for the post-WWII period, rather belonging to the forgotten vocabulary of the 1910s and 1930s. (E.g. referring to PRC as `Country of Kung Flu' or to the US as `trigger happy nation', calling the C-19 `China virus' or `US Army brought pathogen', China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman referring to the US leadership as `Elements deluded by the Capitol Hill metastasis' while the US State Secretary calls the Chinese Communist Party `rogue actor', and then in return Secretary Pompeo gets proclaimed as `the public enemy of mankind' A just to name but few from the long list of heavy verbal fire exchanges between the two.) Strategic decoupling between the biggest manufacturer of American goods, China, and its largest consumer, the US seems inevitable.

It also appears increasingly irreversible, no matter if the change of leaders in Beijing or Washington may or may not happen beyond 2020. This will of course trigger a global realignment and new fragilities on a default line on land and seas, in skies, cyberspace, and near outer space. Asia's History of Future A There is no Asian century, unless... It was expected that by the end of the 2020s, Asian economies will be larger than the rest of the world's economies combined.

Of course, that was only a prediction made before C-19 and the sudden SinoAmerican rift.

Or this was the origin of that rift? A It is still to be seen. Past the demise of global communism, many in Asia enjoyed for decades, the best of both worlds: Cheap products from China and the military protection (or at least an implicit security guaranty) from the US, nearly for free. This especially goes to the southeastern Asia (formerly representing the major Asian default line), large sways of south Asia, and the Far East.

The imposed re-alignment will hit them particularly hard A from a prosperous meeting point of goods...