When it comes to politics, every year should be better than the last and every decade should be a period where we are one step closer to a utopian society, even when it feels as if there is no such thing as “utopia” for as much as Thomas More contends.
But this past decade defied all these expectations.
Rather than taking a step forward, it appears that we have taken three steps backwards.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO], which is also known as the post World War II military alliance, is falling apart. This organization started as a way to defend its members against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. However, after the conflict between the U.S and the Soviet came to an end, NATO’s purpose was fulfilled and it’s function was no longer necessary.
But instead of dissolving, the treaty was extended as a way of securing the freedom of all allied members, the alliance remained indestructible up until the last few years, through military advantage and political unification.
Unfortunately, from spewing childish insults, to the division between the members over foreign relations, to the transformation of Article Five of the United States Constitution into a question by the U.S President, what was once a place for unity, morphed into a series of internal discord—and the clashes won’t subdue anytime soon.
Russia and NATO harbour a complex relationship, in which its President, Vladimir Putin, believes that they would benefit more from the disunion between the alliances, which would then permit Russia to attack allies without major consequences. Trump indirectly turned the odds in Putin’s favor by voicing against one of the founding principlesː Article Five.
As stated, all members will fight to defend a fellow member if they ever came under attack. However, Trump claims that he would not defend the members who come under fire.
As of now, this alliance is at its weakest point. With disputes, factions follow too, and so does the eventual decline of NATO from the on-going and heated feuds between the members. What was once a strong union, is now in danger of becoming a failure.
Trailing after the disunity in foreign relations, there has been a massive global movement to the far right. Right-wing ideologies consist of conservatives, nationalists, and anti-socialists—but the far right-wing possess more extreme views that are almost identical to fascist perspectives such as radical nationalism, dictatorial systems, and xenophobic tendencies.
Followers of the far right are not friendly toward immigrants, minority groups, or anything that would promote outside influence in their homeland. These attitudes have led to violence against people of foreign backgrounds, forced assimilation, and oppression as well, even in the 21st century.
White supremacy is a mere component of the far right and it has been growing rapidly, to the point where it has become a global threat. Sebastian Kruz, the chancellor of Austria, an icon for white supremacists, was elected in 2017 with anti-immigrant and radical nationalist principles and the GOP are persistently dismissing the offenses by other nationalists.
Statistics from 2018 show that hate crimes based on race/ethnicity, being 59.6%, was the most prevalent out of all the other single-bias incidents. Far right nationalism is developing at a steady pace all over the world, even in the United States too given that the President is famous for making racist claims against Muslims, blacks, and Mexicans.
On a worldly scale, it appears that the western regions are impacted the most by the far right movement. Countries such as America and Europe have an unspoken moral compass since they are democratic powerhouses.
When the western countries are adopting facist ideals from the far right movement, their reputation also takes a big hit. Humanity is at its lowest ethical point, being caught up in a rope of political upheavals, corruption, and oppression of minority groups.
At this rate, the next decade will be much worse than the last.
