Politics

The return of 'sphere of influence politics' | TheHill – The Hill

Published

3 years ago

February 14, 2022

Since the end of World War II, the main thrust of American foreign policy has been the creation and maintenance of a “rules-based international order,” which consisted of a worldwide web of organizations, alliances and other treaties, the formal mission of which was to establish a rational framework for communication among countries. The deeper purpose of this world order was to check the advance of an ideologically-driven communist movement led by the Soviet Union and China.

The extraordinary success of this enterprise culminated in the triumphant conclusion of the Cold War, largely derived from the immense military and economic power of the United States, which alone among major nations emerged from the war with its physical, financial and economic foundations intact, and even enhanced.

Over the past half-century, however, the American sponsored rules-based international order has fallen on hard times. Losing long, debilitating and ultimately unpopular wars — from Vietnam to Afghanistan — demolished the aura of American military invincibility and sapped the energy, resources, confidence and unity of the American people. Many of our allies, having regained vibrant economies and no longer alarmed by a virulent world communist movement, came to doubt the judgment of U.S. leaders and even question whether America — relatively diminished, both economically and militarily — is still the “indispensable nation.”

America’s decline and fatigue, both real and perceived, has emboldened rogue states worldwide but most particularly the giant Eurasian authoritarians — China and Russia — who long have chafed under U.S. ascendency. These states essentially have rendered the rules-based international order dysfunctional by routinely violating any rule they don’t like and largely going unpunished for doing so, thereby draining the order of any serious credibility.

As the America-led world order atrophies, we have begun to see the re-emergence of an older principle of international relations: “sphere of influence politics.” Interestingly, this older conception found its most well-known modern manifestation via the Monroe Doctrine, which was proclaimed in 1823 by the U.S. president who gave it his name, and for 200 years it has been a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy.

Audacious in its scope, the Monroe Doctrine did not declare just a few neighboring countries as a zone of paramount American interest, but rather, the entire Western Hemisphere. Across two centuries — by diplomatic, economic or military means — we have rigorously enforced it, rarely against European powers but usually against independent nations south of our border. In the context of the Cold War, the Monroe Doctrine was expanded to justify intervention in any country deemed to be dangerously leftist or even communist; examples of this were the ouster of elected presidents Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala (1954) and Salvador Allende in Chile (1973).

In his 1987 book, “The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers,” historian Paul Kennedy introduced the concept of “imperial overstretch,” in which he asserted that the United States was committed in too many places in the world but no longer had the military and economic resources to simultaneously meet the global obligations it had accepted. Thirty-five years later, the dilemmas Kennedy described have worsened substantially. Today, the United States must choose carefully where it can deploy limited resources and risk a military conflict that would be supported by the American people, and where allied soldiers would join us in harm’s way.

The other superpowers, China and Russia, face similar or even greater constraints and, accordingly, they tend to project military power — not globally like the United States but on a regional basis in areas they claim as their “spheres of influence” (e.g., Taiwan and Ukraine, respectively).

The architects who created the NATO alliance three-quarters of a century ago — President Harry Truman, Secretary of Defense George Marshall and Secretary of State Dean Acheson — operated in a very different world on behalf of a much different America. They had at their disposal the most powerful economic and military engines the world had ever seen. Their modern counterparts — President BidenJoe Biden Cory Booker and Rosario Dawson have reportedly split US ups estimate of Russian forces on Ukraine border to 130,000 Harris heads to Munich at pivotal moment MORE, Defense Secretary Lloyd AustinLloyd Austin US F-22 fighter jets arrive at UAE base in wake of Houthi attacks Kirby: Time is ‘shrinking’ in diplomatic efforts with Russia over Ukraine Majority of Americans say its a bad idea to send troops to fight in Ukraine: poll MORE and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken — dwell in different circumstances but still have the burden of brokering reconciliation between the commitments of the past and the realities of the present.

William Moloney is a Fellow in Conservative Thought at Colorado Christian University’s Centennial Institute who studied at Oxford and the University of London and received his doctorate from Harvard University. He is a former Colorado Commissioner of Education.

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Politics

‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

Published

5 days ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Politics

Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

Published

5 days ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Politics

Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

Published

6 days ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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