As the US government creaked towards yesterday's shutdown, the world looked on with a little anxiety and a lot of dismay, and some people had trouble suppressing smirks.
"To be honest, people are making a lot of jokes," said Justice Malala, a political commentator in South Africa.
Over the years, Malala said, South Africa often has been lectured about good governance by the United States as well as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which are heavily influenced by Washington.
"They tell us, 'You guys are not being fiscally responsible'," Malala said. "And now we see that they are running their country a little like a banana republic. So there is a lot of sniggering going on."
The United States was plunged into the partial government shutdown for the first time in nearly two decades as an attempt by conservative Republicans to stop President Barack Obama's health-care law stalled a temporary funding bill. About 800,000 federal workers are being forced off the job and most nonessential federal programmes and services are being suspended.
Many analysts abroad said they were dumbfounded at the game of political chicken playing out in Washington. They worried that instability in the United States would further damage the already shaky world economy.
"It would be great if we didn't add something more onto this precarious recovery; we really don't need this," said Jorge Castaneda, a Mexican academic and former foreign minister.
"Everything that happens in the United States affects us directly," he said. "The last thing we want right now is another problem in the United States which will make things worse in Mexico."
In Britain, there was a sense of incredulity about the looming US shutdown.
In the Guardian newspaper, columnist Michael Cohen decried Senator Ted Cruz as the Republican Party's "self-made monster". He argued that Republicans had reached the "point where Cruz's brand of crazy, heartless, morally wanton, uncompromising conservatism is now the default position of the party".
A Times of London editorial slammed President Barack Obama along with the tea party, saying: "An argument that is so bitter, prolonged and apparently incapable of resolution cannot but damage America's diplomatic standing."
In South America, where US proselytising about fiscal responsibility has rankled with some countries, economists and policymakers watched the shutdown drama with disbelief.
"It's incredible, it's surrealism," said Jose Antonio Ocampo, a former finance minister of Colombia. "I had to negotiate budgets and debt ceilings in Colombia, and this situation is frankly unreal."
Ocampo said he was astonished at Republican efforts to overturn Obama's health-care law, a key factor contributing to the potential shutdown. "I don't remember, as minister of finance of Colombia, a blackmail so absurd," said Ocampo, who teaches at Columbia University.
In Pakistan, analysts noted that the country's 66-year-old national government has never had a formal shutdown.
Economist Saqib Shirani said there "are lessons to learn" for Pakistan from events in Washington. In a country with 12 major political parties, he said, "there must be political consensus on economic issues, and taking the political bickering to extreme can backfire".
In India, a government minister said the US problems were similar to the struggle between his government and political opponents trying to block its policies.
"It's heartening to note that administrative paralysis is not unique to a particular democracy," said Manish Tewari, India's information and broadcasting minister.In the Middle East, few expressed interest in a crisis seen as complex, distant and unlikely to affect the Arab world.
But in a region where political strife stemming from the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings has battered economies, some analysts were sympathetic to Washington's politically driven financial woes.
"It's a political struggle that is being played out on the economy's battlefield," said Rashad Abdo, a finance professor at Cairo University.
The US crisis has received only fleeting attention in Moscow, where the government is wrestling with budget problems.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
Who's working and who's not in the United States
FEDERAL WORKERS: As many as a million federal employees could face unpaid lay-offs or missed paydays, according to the president of the American Federation of Government Employees.
THE WHITE HOUSE: The Executive Office of the President will lay off 1,265 staff and retain 436 as excepted workers.
ECONOMIC DATA: The United States will stop publishing much of its economic data if the government shuts down, including the closely watched monthly employment report.
INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES: Substantial numbers of intelligence personnel could be placed on leave, but those assigned to vital national security missions, including supporting the president and collecting data from informants or spy devices such as eavesdropping systems or satellites, will generally remain on the job.
NATIONAL PARKS: National parks will close, meaning a loss of 750,000 daily visitors and an economic loss of as much as US$30 million a day.
DEFENCE DEPARTMENT: All military personnel will continue on normal duty status, but half of the Defence Department's 800,000 civilian employees will be placed on unpaid leave. The Pentagon has said it will halt military activity not critical to national security.
FEDERAL RESERVE AND OTHER FINANCIAL AGENCIES: Bank regulators, including the Federal Reserve and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will stay open because they do not rely on Congress for funding.
NASA: Most of Nasa will be shut temporarily, except for space agency employees providing support to the astronauts orbiting the earth in the space station.
[1]TRAVEL: Air and rail travellers in the United States should not feel a big impact, since passport inspectors, security officers and air traffic controllers will continue to work. The shutdown will not hit foreigners seeking US visas.
WASHINGTON SIGHTS: Most tourist spots in the capital will close, including the Lincoln Memorial, the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the National Zoo and all Smithsonian museums.
Reuters