Every Nation For Itself

Tough domestic problems make nations reluctant to take on global leadership responsibilities.

Imagine this: your debt is piling up, your job might be getting axed, and you’ve still got to get your broken car fixed. Is this the time in your life that you’d sign up to lead a community group? Not likely!

Many countries around the world find themselves in similar situations today, facing domestic problems on an extraordinary scale. Even leaders of developed nations such as Japan and the United States are struggling to cope with enormous debt and an aging population.

The United States borrows almost $4 billion a day to manage its national deficit and will continue to do so to get the situation under control. Pension and health insurance for the elderly and poor currently account for 40 percent of the country’s entire budget.

On the other hand, emerging powers such as Brazil, China, Russia and India have shown competence in managing domestic issues with focused strategies. China, for example, has focused on developing its middle class and a social security system for its 1.34 billion citizens. However, despite being seen as an economic superpower, China’s per capita income is equal to just a third of Portugal’s.

On the whole, the demands of internal challenges have made countries reluctant to assume leadership roles internationally; and yet, all countries are faced with very pressing global issues. The 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit illustrated the problems with this widespread apprehension.

Established powers, such as the United States and France, pressured emerging powers, such as China and India, to commit to achieving binding targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Emerging powers made the counter-argument that the Western world has polluted the earth for 150 years; established powers pointed out that the bulk of future pollution will be caused by emerging powers. The result? Neither old nor new powers were prepared to take the lead.

Today, there is no single country or bloc of countries with enough political and economic power to create the change our world needs to tackle impending international problems. Find out the serious consequences of this trend in the following blinks.