Evil Empire 79pankaj mishra: I don’t think Asians or South Asians have much cause
for celebration if power is indeed shifting to the East—if there are now
plenty of crazy rich Asians as well as Americans. One has to step away
from these simple formulas and ask, whose power, whose wealth? Who
in Asia will these transformations empower or enrich, and what will
be the political consequences of deepening inequality in such populous
countries? Asians have shown themselves very capable of the same
kind of calamitous blunders as those of their former Western overlords.
Japan’s history of militarism and imperialism should be a warning to all
those who look to China; to this day the ghost of nationalism is yet to
be exorcised there. And we know about South Asia’s inability to defuse
its toxic nationalisms or provide a degree of social and economic justice
to its billion-plus populations.
I also think we need to question the idea that Trump’s America
First agenda is unprecedented, that the U.S. imperium—whether under
Republicans or Democrats—has not continuously violated international
norms. Didn’t Barack Obama threaten to renegotiate NAFTA? Didn’t
George W. Bush put Iran in the “Axis of Evil” and openly scorn France
and Germany for failing to join his misadventure in Iraq? It has become
too easy since Trump’s ascension to say that the United States once ad-
vanced liberal democracy and freedom. This was never the view from
India or Pakistan, let alone Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The United
States was and is a self-interested global hegemon; it has supported the
world’s worst despots when they seemed to protect U.S. interests. The
only difference is that Trump openly repudiates emollient rhetoric and
does not hesitate to alienate U.S. allies.
wa: And he is not alone. A string of right-wing leaders—Benjamin
Netanyahu, Rodrigo Duterte, Viktor Orbán, Narendra Modi, Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan—are still winning democratic elections and retaining