In response to some of the comments along the lines of "the west is very good", I think it's important separate rhetoric from material actions. For example, people ask "why don't democracies like...
In response to some of the comments along the lines of "the west is very good", I think it's important separate rhetoric from material actions.
For example, people ask "why don't democracies like Brazil support Ukraine". The answer here is quite simple – consider any war in a non-white country (e.g. Yemen, Sudan, Libya, Niger) and ask "why doesn't the west support democracy in these countries"? The answer from a diplomatic point of view is probably "we see this as a regional conflict far away from us" which is also what the Russian invasion of Ukraine is; it is a regional European conflict.
In terms of why there is some hostility to the US, if you are a South American country then it is reasonable to note that the Americans have tried to instigate regime change (usually through a coup) in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guetamala, Haiti and Panama. The Chinese have run 0 as have the Russians (who are, it must be said, running coups in Africa through Wagner). Given that the Americans have a considerable infrastructure for violating human rights (CIA, NSA, etc) the choice is not between "heaven and hell" but between the devil who would really like your support (China) and the devil who doesn't care as much (the US).
Additionally, China actually gave humanitarian support during the COVID pandemic to many Latin American countries. Very pro western, but an article about it nonetheless as sauce. Those kind of...
In terms of why there is some hostility to the US, if you are a South American country then it is reasonable to note that the Americans have tried to instigate regime change (usually through a coup) in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guetamala, Haiti and Panama. The Chinese have run 0 as have the Russians (who are, it must be said, running coups in Africa through Wagner).
Those kind of 'favours' tend to have long lasting positive impact for relations. The Netherlands, where I'm from, still views Canada very favourably due to them having been in charge of liberating us during WW2. If you're a country in the region, and you constantly hear about the negative impact of the US's influence in your neighbourhood (sometimes even 'just' about bananas!) and you then hear of aid from China for a humanitarian crisis... well, of course you're going to view China as a good alternative.
Not a big surprise that the BRICS members aren’t pursuing an exchange currency alternative to the USD, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can succeed in agreeing to direct currency exchanges....
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has invited more than 60 heads of state and government to a summit in Johannesburg from Wednesday when several countries could be invited to join the bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, said several officials familiar with talks.
But in the run-up to the summit New Delhi has clashed with Beijing over the expansion. Tensions are mounting over whether the Brics should be a non-aligned club for the economic interests of developing countries, or a political force that openly challenges the west, said people briefed on India and China’s positions. South African officials said 23 countries are interested in joining.
Not a big surprise that the BRICS members aren’t pursuing an exchange currency alternative to the USD, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can succeed in agreeing to direct currency exchanges. While not exactly official, it remains to be seen how China and India’s seemingly different views for the future of the bloc will play out in this meeting.
I for one am glad (not from USA) that America is still the economic gorilla in the room, without such overwhelming western positioning a split world becomes more viable and weaker nations get...
I for one am glad (not from USA) that America is still the economic gorilla in the room, without such overwhelming western positioning a split world becomes more viable and weaker nations get swept up. It’s already happening with political strategic investment from China into Africa to curry favour and possibly UN votes etc.
Economically the traditional non-west are obviously catching up and growing but culturally it would be pretty grim if there was another half of the planet run by China, Russia et Al. With their stances on human rights and penchant for authoritarianism and propaganda.
I don’t think for a second if Russia or China could get away with it they would invade their neighbours like no tomorrow. Just this week Japan and South Korea were with Biden to discuss a security in the region ahead of Chinese posturing to invade Taiwan ala Russia -> Ukraine.
It’s all a very grim backdrop while the world burns with forest fires and melting glaciers.
All praise the mighty dollar keeping us from WWIII apparently.
To be a net exporter someone has to be a net importer by definition. When you get an economic alliance of ten net exporters they all end up barely benefitting because none of them are willing to...
To be a net exporter someone has to be a net importer by definition. When you get an economic alliance of ten net exporters they all end up barely benefitting because none of them are willing to make the concessions that the current net importers do.
I'm still a bit confused by your point; what does BRICS' apparent goal of de-dollarization have to do with being net exporters? The goal of measures such as direct currency exchanges is to reduce...
I'm still a bit confused by your point; what does BRICS' apparent goal of de-dollarization have to do with being net exporters? The goal of measures such as direct currency exchanges is to reduce American economic influence globally by challenging the USD's status as the de facto international reserve currency, and not necessarily to boost their respective economies. Also, organizations comprised of exporters do exist (OPEC for example), because they aren't just trading amongst themselves; they also export to countries outside the bloc.
I don't disagree that contention among BRICS members will play into discussions at this summit; as I stated in my original comment, China and India's rocky relationship in particular will likely be a conflict point.
You can't trade with your dollar as a reserve if you run net exports, you have to take in foreign currency or other assets in order to do that. A bunch of net exporters can't kick the dollar...
You can't trade with your dollar as a reserve if you run net exports, you have to take in foreign currency or other assets in order to do that.
A bunch of net exporters can't kick the dollar because to do so mandates they stop being net exporters.
There's a reason this dedollar meme is considered a meme in most expert circles. The global dollar is a big harm to the United States and a big benefit to all these net export nations.
What will have to happen to kill the global dollar?
America is going to have to be the one to kill it, and the bricks are going to be bitching for a generation about how we destroyed their economy when we finally do.
De-dollarization does have a history of mixed success going back to the 80s, but I'm curious which experts you're talking about that think of it as a meme. De-dollarization efforts continue to...
There's a reason this dedollar meme is considered a meme in most expert circles.
De-dollarization does have a history of mixed success going back to the 80s, but I'm curious which experts you're talking about that think of it as a meme. De-dollarization efforts continue to this day, for example ASEAN just this year agreed to increasing local currency exchanges between member states over using the USD as an intermediary, similar to what the article is discussing as a possible path for BRICS
The global dollar is a big harm to the United States and a big benefit to all these net export nations.
...where did you find this take? I have never heard of any expert considering the US dollar's reserve currency status a bad thing. In the field of international relations it's one of the US' greatest foreign policy tools and a source of immense hard and soft power. Economically, the US can engage in some pretty hefty deficit spending. Why do you believe the global dollar is a bad thing?
Has to. For the sake of our own economy we can and should cut off those deficits. It's an example of the wealthy institutions, the banks and the politicians, benefiting while everyone else in the...
In the field of international relations it's one of the US' greatest foreign policy tools and a source of immense hard and soft power. Economically, the US can engage in some pretty hefty deficit spending.
Has to.
For the sake of our own economy we can and should cut off those deficits. It's an example of the wealthy institutions, the banks and the politicians, benefiting while everyone else in the country loses.
Has your everyday average person, you can't just take debt to live your life.
Cyril Ramaphosa said today that South Africa was standing aside from any disagreement between the USA, Russia, and China .. not his exact words but I interpreted it as mainly saying they weren't...
Cyril Ramaphosa said today that South Africa was standing aside from any disagreement between the USA, Russia, and China .. not his exact words but I interpreted it as mainly saying they weren't going to support Ukraine
Which ironically is a position of support for Russia. SA have long been aligned to China and Russia, even more so since China provided financial relief during COVID.
Which ironically is a position of support for Russia. SA have long been aligned to China and Russia, even more so since China provided financial relief during COVID.
Consider it the modern form of Switzerland: hegemonic neutrality. If you're on the outside of the hegemony looking in, you may form a counter balance (BRICS) and/or may make a show of not taking...
South Africa was standing aside from any disagreement between the USA, Russia, and China
Consider it the modern form of Switzerland: hegemonic neutrality.
If you're on the outside of the hegemony looking in, you may form a counter balance (BRICS) and/or may make a show of not taking sides or brokering between parties or even supporting “both sides” if your peers start a kerfluffle. You may also be less motivated or aligned to support Ukraine than the standard presumption of embedded liberalism would suggest.
More practically, if your coffers overflow from exports (it doesn't take much make a difference in most of the world) and liberalism is not your bag, you can leverage a heritage of patromonialism in target states as neopatromonialism to enlarge your sphere of influence and support, not to mention generate future customers.
As to whether that will work out for everyone, hegemonic stability theory (“HST”) says maybe not, and thus for those whose coffers are less full, a strategy of playing it both ways.
In response to some of the comments along the lines of "the west is very good", I think it's important separate rhetoric from material actions.
For example, people ask "why don't democracies like Brazil support Ukraine". The answer here is quite simple – consider any war in a non-white country (e.g. Yemen, Sudan, Libya, Niger) and ask "why doesn't the west support democracy in these countries"? The answer from a diplomatic point of view is probably "we see this as a regional conflict far away from us" which is also what the Russian invasion of Ukraine is; it is a regional European conflict.
In terms of why there is some hostility to the US, if you are a South American country then it is reasonable to note that the Americans have tried to instigate regime change (usually through a coup) in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guetamala, Haiti and Panama. The Chinese have run 0 as have the Russians (who are, it must be said, running coups in Africa through Wagner). Given that the Americans have a considerable infrastructure for violating human rights (CIA, NSA, etc) the choice is not between "heaven and hell" but between the devil who would really like your support (China) and the devil who doesn't care as much (the US).
Additionally, China actually gave humanitarian support during the COVID pandemic to many Latin American countries. Very pro western, but an article about it nonetheless as sauce.
Those kind of 'favours' tend to have long lasting positive impact for relations. The Netherlands, where I'm from, still views Canada very favourably due to them having been in charge of liberating us during WW2. If you're a country in the region, and you constantly hear about the negative impact of the US's influence in your neighbourhood (sometimes even 'just' about bananas!) and you then hear of aid from China for a humanitarian crisis... well, of course you're going to view China as a good alternative.
E: some spelling.
Not a big surprise that the BRICS members aren’t pursuing an exchange currency alternative to the USD, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can succeed in agreeing to direct currency exchanges. While not exactly official, it remains to be seen how China and India’s seemingly different views for the future of the bloc will play out in this meeting.
I for one am glad (not from USA) that America is still the economic gorilla in the room, without such overwhelming western positioning a split world becomes more viable and weaker nations get swept up. It’s already happening with political strategic investment from China into Africa to curry favour and possibly UN votes etc.
Economically the traditional non-west are obviously catching up and growing but culturally it would be pretty grim if there was another half of the planet run by China, Russia et Al. With their stances on human rights and penchant for authoritarianism and propaganda.
I don’t think for a second if Russia or China could get away with it they would invade their neighbours like no tomorrow. Just this week Japan and South Korea were with Biden to discuss a security in the region ahead of Chinese posturing to invade Taiwan ala Russia -> Ukraine.
It’s all a very grim backdrop while the world burns with forest fires and melting glaciers.
All praise the mighty dollar keeping us from WWIII apparently.
People have said it before, and I'm copying them.
BRICS is a group of exporters hoping to dump their export on the other guys.
I’m not quite sure what you mean, could you expand on this? I feel like most exporters seek to, well, export.
To be a net exporter someone has to be a net importer by definition. When you get an economic alliance of ten net exporters they all end up barely benefitting because none of them are willing to make the concessions that the current net importers do.
I'm still a bit confused by your point; what does BRICS' apparent goal of de-dollarization have to do with being net exporters? The goal of measures such as direct currency exchanges is to reduce American economic influence globally by challenging the USD's status as the de facto international reserve currency, and not necessarily to boost their respective economies. Also, organizations comprised of exporters do exist (OPEC for example), because they aren't just trading amongst themselves; they also export to countries outside the bloc.
I don't disagree that contention among BRICS members will play into discussions at this summit; as I stated in my original comment, China and India's rocky relationship in particular will likely be a conflict point.
You can't trade with your dollar as a reserve if you run net exports, you have to take in foreign currency or other assets in order to do that.
A bunch of net exporters can't kick the dollar because to do so mandates they stop being net exporters.
There's a reason this dedollar meme is considered a meme in most expert circles. The global dollar is a big harm to the United States and a big benefit to all these net export nations.
What will have to happen to kill the global dollar?
America is going to have to be the one to kill it, and the bricks are going to be bitching for a generation about how we destroyed their economy when we finally do.
De-dollarization does have a history of mixed success going back to the 80s, but I'm curious which experts you're talking about that think of it as a meme. De-dollarization efforts continue to this day, for example ASEAN just this year agreed to increasing local currency exchanges between member states over using the USD as an intermediary, similar to what the article is discussing as a possible path for BRICS
...where did you find this take? I have never heard of any expert considering the US dollar's reserve currency status a bad thing. In the field of international relations it's one of the US' greatest foreign policy tools and a source of immense hard and soft power. Economically, the US can engage in some pretty hefty deficit spending. Why do you believe the global dollar is a bad thing?
Has to.
For the sake of our own economy we can and should cut off those deficits. It's an example of the wealthy institutions, the banks and the politicians, benefiting while everyone else in the country loses.
Has your everyday average person, you can't just take debt to live your life.
Cyril Ramaphosa said today that South Africa was standing aside from any disagreement between the USA, Russia, and China .. not his exact words but I interpreted it as mainly saying they weren't going to support Ukraine
Which ironically is a position of support for Russia. SA have long been aligned to China and Russia, even more so since China provided financial relief during COVID.
Consider it the modern form of Switzerland: hegemonic neutrality.
If you're on the outside of the hegemony looking in, you may form a counter balance (BRICS) and/or may make a show of not taking sides or brokering between parties or even supporting “both sides” if your peers start a kerfluffle. You may also be less motivated or aligned to support Ukraine than the standard presumption of embedded liberalism would suggest.
More practically, if your coffers overflow from exports (it doesn't take much make a difference in most of the world) and liberalism is not your bag, you can leverage a heritage of patromonialism in target states as neopatromonialism to enlarge your sphere of influence and support, not to mention generate future customers.
As to whether that will work out for everyone, hegemonic stability theory (“HST”) says maybe not, and thus for those whose coffers are less full, a strategy of playing it both ways.