2013-08-09

U.S. global stature collapsing

Positive attitudes toward the United States were part of rising social mood. Just as the president benefits from rising social mood, so the U.S. benefited in its role as global leader. As global social mood sours, however, the U.S. is on the decline. What started under Bush is accelerating rapidly under Obama. There is an internal component as well. The U.S. is fracturing internally as negative social mood causes the public to pull away from extremist interventionist policies towards the isolationist pole, pulling U.S. foreign policy back towards the center. Towards the center the U.S. will act more in its self-interest, which will cause it to conflict more with foreign nations. Other nations are the same, which is why we see increasing international disputes across Europe and Asia.

However, the acceleration of the decline under Obama is quite remarkable. Even though Russian defectors are common, one American defects to Russia and Obama refuses to meet with Putin, making America appear weak to the entire world. Obama has also likely armed Al-Qaeda with American weapons, though there is no direct link as of yet, it is quite possible that one will emerge from the Benghazi investigations. The latter has led to protests in Egypt:

Obviously the U.S. has stirred up hatred and protests as a result of military campaigns, but these are the supposed allies of America, the Egyptians who want to be friends with the West and have a Western-style democracy. I cannot remember a time when American foreign policy managed to anger the entire population of a nation it was not at war with.

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