The article published in the International section of The Economist under the title ‘America’s allies are preparing for a bumpy ride’ covers the impact of Donald Trump’s presidency on the stability and peace in the world (The Economist). The article focuses on the America’s allies who have been working cooperatively with the USA for the last seventy years. Unlike all last US presidents from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama, Donald Trump has an absolutely different perception of the US international policy that may change the face of the global politics.
The recently elected US president perceives the majority of US allies in Europe and Asia as a burden for the American economy and constantly claims that their time to pay the bills has come. Despite the fact that pre-election program and announcements of Trump were quite aggressive, his real plans for the future remain unclear. The authors of the article support such position with the actual examples from the Trump’s meetings with the other countries’ leaders and his dubious claims.
They also rely on direct citations of some experts, including Andrew Shearer, and Thomas Wright, who support an idea that the world will still learn a lot about the current US president. The authors also perfectly incorporate the saying of an Afghan official: “No one can tell you [what’s going to happen]” that stresses the main idea of the article (“America’s allies are preparing for a bumpy ride”).
In addition, this article pays great attention to the question of NATO that, according to the Trump’s position, is not really useful to the US. The point is that the majority of the NATO members do not spend the minimal 2% of GDP on defence, therefore, the US president calls for equal spending.
The authors of the article successfully present the current political situation in the world in an unbiased way. They rely on the facts and cases of different countries and explain the roots of the Trump’s position. In addition, the Economist provide different perspectives on the US president’s foreign policy.
For example, in another related article the journal cites a former prime minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg, who calls the current US demands to NATO “reasonable” (“Donald Trump seems to see allies as a burden”). This way the authors provide a reader with the opportunity to make one’s own judgment on the topic and objectively reflect on the claims of Donald Trump, that may turn into actions only in the nearest future.
Generally, the authors’ position is correct as the current political situation in the US can greatly influence the whole world. The announcements of Donald Trump are too radical and can threaten the overall peace and change the well-established relationships with the US allies. Yet it looks like Trump has not already decided how to reform the foreign policy, therefore, his actions may be very unexpected. This idea summarizes the article and perfectly reflects the current political situation.