THE SECRET KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZATION...:

End of an empire? Not so fast... (ARIEL BAUM , 9/01/09, Jerusalem Post)

[W]hy is it that countries who are ideological competitors of the United States have so much to lose in a US decline? Communist China, an ideological rival to Western liberal democracies, holds an estimated $2 trillion in foreign reserves and is the US's largest creditor, having bought more than $1 trillion of its debt. Saudi Arabia, a cultural and religious rival of the US, supports US foreign policy in the Middle East, allowing US troops to operate from Saudi air bases during both Gulf wars. Saudi Arabia supports US peace initiatives between the Israelis and Palestinians. Venezuela's biggest oil purchaser is not Iran, a major gasoline importer and its principle ally, but the US.

THE REASON these cultural, religious and ideological rivals of the US adhere to Euro-Atlantic international norms is because of an intricate and carefully developed network of economic, political and military institutions established by the US. As the sole surviving industrialized power of both world wars, the US found itself in a unique position to safeguard its supremacy. A collection of international organizations was established, with the US assuming the leading role.

The World Trade Organization, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations Security Council and North Atlantic Treaty Organization are a formidable collection of "members' only" financial and political institutions that ensure US hegemony. The US has the primary authority to bestow membership on countries that it deems fit and that support its policies.

...is that it serve our unilateral interests. If it didn't, we'd quit and render it nugatory.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 1, 2009 5:46 PM