US' influence is waning because of Donald Trump. Is that actually a good thing?

United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs against most of the world  tanked stock markets,  disrupted the US bond market and destabilised the global economy.

Trump has  economically and politically  threatened American allies, shattering the unity of the western world. But Trump’s chaos may have inadvertently produced an opportunity to create a better world.

Some western commentators  argue that the US has been a benevolent superpower.

That may have been true for a  small group of mostly western states that have benefitted from American domination. But  much of the Global South was victimised by American military, economic and political interventions.

A new world order?

The West could be in the midst of losing its dominant position in the global order. This is probably inevitable,  but it may not be the tragedy some western commentators assume it to be.

In most of the world, there is  a desire for a more equitable world order that doesn’t feature  the moral, racial and cultural double standards  of the western-dominated system. A world where American and western power is limited and contained could not only end up being more peaceful but, over time, more prosperous.

More from Explainers

China says US ‘severely’ violated May trade truce on tariffs, vows retaliation US court blocks Trump’s tariffs: What does it mean for global trade, markets?

Without the co-operation of the allies alienated by Trump, it may be harder for the US to  initiate conflict around the world as  it often has since the end of the Cold War.

In a recent Foreign Affairs article, American political scientist Stacie Goddard argues the emerging multipolar, post-American world will be one in which great powers — primarily the US, Russia and China —  will divide the globe into “spheres of influence.”

The US is  seeking to maintain disproportionate power in Asia.

Closer to home, neighbours of the US have reason to fear  American expansionism.

By contrast, even if it has imperialist ambitions,  Russia doesn’t have the military might to dominate Europe. It’s a country of  144 million people with  one-sixth the GDP of the European Union.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

Ghaziabad woman dead, pilgrims attacked in bus… How Nepal’s Gen-Z protests turned into a living hell for Indian tourists

Were bodyguards involved in Charlie Kirk’s shooting? The many conspiracies surrounding the killing

Russia can cause trouble within countries with sizable Russian minorities, but its ability to project power is limited, as demonstrated by its grinding war in Ukraine.

China’s stance

The Chinese have scored a win against Trump’s tariffs with a 90-day tariff pause  that’s being hailed as vindication of China’s defiant negotiating strategy. China  called Trump’s bluff and won as  global stocks soared.

This has bolstered China’s goal to have a sphere of influence. However, Chinese foreign policy is largely  non-interventionist and, compared to the US, remarkably restrained.

China may intimidate its rivals in the  South China Sea,  Senkaku Islands, and  Taiwan, but it does not easily resort to military force.  China has not resorted to military force since its war with Vietnam in 1979.

China is committed to most of the guiding structures of the current international system and values a  stable and mutually beneficial global economic order that enables it to focus on and improve its domestic development.

Its  export-oriented economic sectors need customers abroad. Unlike the West,  China has a vested interest in helping the Global South develop and prosper in order to create those customers.

American and Chinese trade and diplomatic officials meet in Geneva for trade talks on May 10, 2025. China called Donald Trump’s bluff on tariffs, and won. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

Good for Global South?

The Chinese  are using their resources to promote  economic and technological development in the Global South.

As China spreads its renewable energy technologies globally, some of the poorest countries may leapfrog carbon-based fuels and go directly to renewable energy to make development affordable and attainable, and to mitigate climate change.

In response to Trump’s tariffs, China, South Korea and Japan  have discussed a renewed free-trade arrangement. President Xi Jinping  has toured Vietnam,  Malaysia and Cambodia to encourage a common front against American actions.

Asian states are wary of China, but they  remain committed to global trade. The US may be retreating from globalisation, but the rest of the world is not, though  China’s manufacturing dominance  concerns many states.

Emerging international order

New institutions may help to manage the evolving world order. The  Brics countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates — have created the  New Development Bank (NDB). China has created the  Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the  Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The United Nations remains the favoured instrument of global diplomacy,  even if western states have been accused of undermining its authority and efficacy.

The European Union will continue as a major global power in the emerging international order, but on a more even footing with the rest of the world.

Europe is reconsidering its  trade war with China. In the words of Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission: “ The West as we knew it no longer exists.”

Western states will undoubtedly continue to try to exercise disproportionate global influence. Canada has suggested that  “like-minded states” form an alliance to promote international trade and institutions that remain dominated by western interests. This idea seems designed to continue marginalising the Global South in the international decision-making process.

Most  Global South states are  not high-functioning liberal democracies. Many struggle with the legacies of colonialism while managing an international system dominated by the West that keeps them subservient. Others have created governments that fit their particular circumstances, cultures and levels of development.

But  many weaker countries generally share a commitment to international law that is seemingly stronger than the West. They need a stable, predictable, fairly applied set of global rules more than stronger nations. Ironically, the decline of the US may facilitate a much more genuine and legitimate rules-based international order.

America’s loosening grip

Readjusting the world economy away from the US to a more diverse, evenly distributed economic model will be  difficult and disruptive.

Nonetheless, loosening the American grip on global power is an essential first step towards achieving a more just and balanced international order.

For putting this process in motion, the world may owe Trump a measure of thanks.

Shaun Narine, professor of International Relations and Political Science, St. Thomas University (Canada)

This article is republished from   The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the  original article.