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The world is entering an era of neo-imperialism. During his inaugural address, US President Donald Trump promised that the United States would “once again see itself as a growing nation – one that increases our wealth, expands our territory.”
And hopes that these talks were empty rhetoric have already been dashed. After all, the new US president mentions his desire to buy the territories of other countries too often to be ignored or dismissed, writes the Financial Times. Trump confidently declared that America “will get Greenland”, promised to “return” the Panama Canal, and said that Canada should become the 51st state. And last week, the American leader unexpectedly spoke about Gaza.
Such rhetoric is frightening even to some of Trump’s supporters. But to understand his expansionist ambitions, it is important to view them through the lens of a global trend. The leaders of Russia and China – Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping – also see territorial expansion as a key national goal and part of their personal claims to greatness.
“Russian spokespeople often cite national security as a justification for the war against Ukraine. But Putin himself obsessively returns to the idea that Ukraine is not a full-fledged country, but part of the “Russian world,” the publication emphasizes.
Xi Jinping also believes that gaining control of Taiwan is key to China's national destiny and to its own historical legacy.
Trump’s imperial interests have only recently begun to emerge. As with Putin, the first thing those who try to “wash” the US president’s rhetoric do is look for a national security explanation. Greenland has critical minerals, for example; the Chinese are “sniffing out” the Panama Canal. But in the cases of Canada and Gaza, there are no rational explanations, so the alternative reason is Trump’s personal greatness.
Trump’s hopes of taking over Canada or Gaza still seem implausible. But the Panama Canal and Greenland are more vulnerable: American military power would be overwhelming if deployed against the Panamanians or the Danes.
“With the US, Russia and China led by people with expansionist ambitions, the implications for the current international system are bleak. Perhaps the world is moving from an era when small countries could claim the protection of international law to an era in which, in the words of Thucydides (an ancient Greek historian, ed.), ‘the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must’,” the author emphasizes.
Such a world might be compatible with an uneasy peace between the great powers, based on the division of spheres of influence. For example, the United States would focus on the Western Hemisphere, Russia on Eastern Europe, and China on East Asia. But such a division would be unstable.
Moreover, imperialist ambitions influence domestic politics. Look at China and Russia, where Putin and Xi’s expansionist foreign policies go hand in hand with a cult of personality at home and political repression. At the same time, Trump’s foreign ambitions are combined with an intense focus on destroying the “enemy within.”
Billionaire Elon Musk, who now plays a major role in these processes, said he thinks about the fate of the Roman Empire every day. He even suggested that America might need a “modern-day Sulla.” This is a reference to the Roman dictator who killed hundreds of his opponents while reforming the state.
Trump's territorial ambitions
Donald Trump has repeatedly said that Canada should become the 51st state of the United States. According to the American president, in this case, Canadians would have “much lower taxes and better military protection.”
He also made claims to Greenland. Denmark has already said it is ready to allow the US to increase its presence in Greenland. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen emphasized that there is already a US military base there that monitors space and detects missile threats, so the US “may have more options.”
