In 2003, Michael Ignatieff, the Canadian writer and liberal politician, made the telling point – and this at the time George W Bush was deciding to invade Iraq – that America was probably the first imperial power in history that had no consciousness of itself as an empire.
He might have also added that there was and remains another important strain in the American world view: a profound belief that when it decides to act – as it did over Iraq – it would do so without seeking permission or worrying too much what impact its actions might have on the world at large.
What a second Trump presidency would mean for the world
A ‘deal’ with Putin, tariffs on all imports, targeting Iran…if Donald Trump wins in November and is as good as his word, America may add to global uncertainty and hand its rivals diplomatic victories, writes Michael Cox.
