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Opinion | US must learn to share global stage with China and adapt to the reality of a diverse, multipolar world
- America needs to move past its monolithic vision of a world order centred on liberal democracy and recognise the legitimacy of other governance models
- The inconvenient truth is that it is not the only ‘shining city upon a hill’
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With the last flight out of Kabul, America ended its longest war and ill-fated attempt to nurture a democracy in the “graveyard of empires”. This accelerated closure is calculated to free the United States to zero in on defending living democracies in the Asia-Pacific region.
But to blame China for the ills afflicting liberal democracy is likely to see America become mired in yet another intractable conflict. Instead, the US must accept the reality of a multipolar world order and learn to coexist peaceably with China.
Despite the bungled exit, there is near consensus that the US had to leave Afghanistan. Twenty years and trillions of dollars later, Americans are done with any illusion of nation-building in faraway lands.
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Still, this setback does not spell the end of the American commitment to liberal democracy. The White House has vowed to continue standing up for the rights and freedoms of the oppressed.
The new pivot to the Asia-Pacific is framed as a tactical shift, a strategic step back from building to defending liberal democracy. Indeed, Taipei is not Kabul. Unlike Afghanistan, Taiwan is a thriving democracy.
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Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen calls for ‘faith in democracy’ in Lunar New Year message
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen calls for ‘faith in democracy’ in Lunar New Year message
US President Joe Biden has warned that America will not stand idly by if any allies come under attack from any hostile force. The White House’s words notwithstanding, it is questionable whether Americans are ready for another military expedition in yet one more far-off land.
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