Is imperialism coming back: the world media about the global ambitions of the great powers
Russia’s war against Ukraine, China’s threats to Taiwan, as well as Donald Trump’s loud statements regarding Greenland, the Panama Canal, and Canada make the international community wonder whether the world is on the threshold of a new stage of imperialism. The world media actively comment on this situation, comparing it to the era of the 19th century, when colonialism and expansionism determined the geopolitical order.
Today’s struggle for spheres of influence looks somewhat different, but its nature remains disturbingly familiar. Economic pressure, territorial claims and power politics of great powers are increasingly becoming tools of the international game. The European press emphasizes that the current distribution of forces can endanger global stability, and old imperialist approaches find a new face in the 21st century.
Expresso – Portugal. Europe must resist the territorial appetites of the great powers, historian Rui Tavares expresses this opinion on the pages of the Lisbon weekly Expresso:
“For Trump, Putin (and Xi Jinping), the 21st century is like the 19th century. Is this time the Great Game unfolds in the Arctic. This is a world run by men who say they don’t believe in global warming, but actually count on the melting of the ice caps – and they’re melting fast! – new routes and access to new mineral deposits will open up to them.
… If the small and medium-sized countries do not make it clear that they are determined, then the revisionist superpowers will swallow them whole. No, Trump’s United States is not an ally of Denmark or Europe. But Europe is powerless only if it wants it.”
El País – Spain. Madrid’s El País calls on Europe to unite and resist:
“The Europeans should avoid one-sided negotiations with Trump – in this case, their position will only be weakened, even if they manage to gain a temporary advantage.” The newly elected US president intends to abolish NATO and disarm EU institutions in the international arena in order to eliminate all strategic autonomy of Europe – he is united with the Kremlin in pursuit of this goal. He knows that it is the empire of rules and laws, which is the European Union, that can stop those who ignore international law.
… To unilaterally go backwards in the face of this new imperial idea is an empty and meaningless matter. The future of the European Union can be guaranteed only by the unity of all 27 countries of the community, as well as by existing institutions and
contracts”.
Nepszava – Hungary. Trump’s statements about the absorption of Greenland and the Panama Canal do not bode well, warns Budapest’s Nepszava:
“The biggest danger is that crazy ideas become a self-evident part of public discourse.
…Hatred almost imperceptibly takes root in people’s souls. The idea of triumphalism – winning over others – may well become attractive to the masses. US politicians, instead of unanimously rejecting this [Trump’s] statement, in the form of Republicans, are competing over who can best compliment the militaristic proposal of the “world president”. We know from historical experience that this does not lead to anything good.”
Zeit Online – Germany. According to Zeit Online columnist Michael Tumann, there is a clear trend here:
“The size of the territory again becomes a measure of the success of this or that country and nation. And the economy and the army are the means of its continuous expansion. …For such rulers as Putin and Trump, the main thing is the “territorial meter”, that is, square kilometers on the map, related to the question: “And who has more?”. Answer: “Vladimir Putin’s.”
However, in 2014, he resumed the race of conquests and annexations. If Trump follows the same logic now, a new global era of imperialism will begin. And it will be similar, even if not completely, to the 19th century, when the great European powers fought for new and new territories around the world and were engaged in the colonization of foreign continents.”
Le Monde – France. Donald Trump proposed to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. In order to implement this idea, a struggle will be launched around online platforms and the geographic maps published on them, geographer Frédéric Giraud warns in his article for the Parisian Le Monde:
“Apparently, it has not escaped anyone’s notice that Donald Trump’s territorial claims by his ally Elon Musk on platforms operating on the principle of public access and collective editing, in particular on Wikipedia, which may interfere with the achievement of the president-elect’s goals in the field of knowledge – in including collective ones.
…Yes, at the forefront of a comprehensive imperialist project, which can have immeasurable consequences, is toponymics – the science of geographical names, and if it is taken seriously, it can be an important warning signal.”
