US vs Rest of the World
Wandering around the 'G on Monday night, just soaking up the atmosphere, I was struck by the irrelevance of sovereignty - nationalism just didn't matter and we felt part of something bigger.
It's natural that as globalisation advances, this waning of the primacy of sovereignty is mirrored on the world stage. I would welcome this if it were part of a consensual, multilateral process such as the successful European Union. But, sadly, with the UN badly overdue for reform, the process has instead been hijacked by US interests. Not only has the US been the stand-out abstainer from the International Criminal Court and the Kyoto Protocol, it has confirmed that it can unilaterally invade nations and arrest, detain and torture foreign nationals in a third country.
If the continuing erosion of sovereignty is only a one-way process for the US, then this century will be see a US vs Rest of the World match that might not be as friendly.
It's natural that as globalisation advances, this waning of the primacy of sovereignty is mirrored on the world stage. I would welcome this if it were part of a consensual, multilateral process such as the successful European Union. But, sadly, with the UN badly overdue for reform, the process has instead been hijacked by US interests. Not only has the US been the stand-out abstainer from the International Criminal Court and the Kyoto Protocol, it has confirmed that it can unilaterally invade nations and arrest, detain and torture foreign nationals in a third country.
If the continuing erosion of sovereignty is only a one-way process for the US, then this century will be see a US vs Rest of the World match that might not be as friendly.
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