Divide enemies, unite allies

In the late Nineteenth Century German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck adopted a time tested strategy known as “divide enemies and unite allies”, in order to maintain peace in Europe. There was a need to keep enemies such as France and England divided and forge alliances with Russia and the Ottomans. This strategy has implication today in geoeconomics.

In today’s world there are five centres of power. America, China, European Union, Russia and the Global South. England is in a unique position. The Brexit carnage that officially took place on the First day of February 2020 resulted in England’s isolation from Europe on the one side and being relegated as an appendage to America on the other, due mainly to her special relationship with USA in the Anglo–American sphere not standing with the fact her remaining as titular head of the British Commonwealth.

Earlier, at the behest of USA, all five centres, were playing musical chairs in such a way that only America would be seated and the rest standing eternally. This cannot be sustained in the long run due to the intervention of geoeconomics. Simply put American leadership in technology, supply chain, production capacity in terms of manufacturing could not keep up with the development taking place in other three centres, viz., China, Russia and global south.

America’s “divide et impera” (divide and rule) concept that was hitherto working well as demoed by Kissingerian divide between China and Russia lately, fell apart. Added to this is the emergence of global south countries such as Brazil, India and South Africa, wielding their clout in geoeconomics power play. Then came BRICS that made an inroad to this structure, thereby uniting China, Russia and the global south under one flag and the America led west including  EU and England in the opposite camp.

Donald Trump read the tea leaves correctly. He found that individually China, Russia and the global south cannot take on American exceptionalism & expansionism. He also realized all these three power centres understand the logic of Latin dictum “simul stabimus, divisi sumus, labimur” meaning “together we stand divided we fall”. Hence he declared that BRICS as the enemy number one.

Trump appreciated that BRICS is the net thrown over him in the ring of geoeconomics stadium. As a gladiator he has to fight or America will go down on her knees. Hence, his move is to firstly delve into befriending Russia as an urgent matter. For America, the current business strategy of divide and rule need to be re-moulded so that Russian Bear must be corralled first and leave China and the rest for another day!

 

Cheers!

 

Muthu Ashraff Rajulu

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail: cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog:   Business Strategist