USA, China, Russia and Germany: "Turning point of power"

t-online USA, China, Russia and Germany: "Turning point of power" Marc von Lüpke • 4 hours • 3 minutes reading time Political scientist Münkler "We are observing a turning point of power" The USA and Russia are moving closer together, to the chagrin of the attacked Ukraine. But this development is only part of a global shift in power, says political scientist Herfried Münkler. The liberal and rule-based world order has been in decline since long before Donald Trump returned to the White House. But: Since January 20, 2025, the decline has accelerated enormously. The renowned political scientist Herfried Münkler is also warning of an end to the Western alliance of values. "What we are observing is the end of the transatlantic West as a geopolitical actor," says the professor emeritus at Berlin's Humboldt University in an interview with t-online. "This is accompanied by a return of imperial thinking and action among the Russians, Chinese and now also the Americans with regard to the Panama Canal, Canada and Greenland." Trump is preparing to end the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which is in violation of international law. However, Ukrainian interests appear to play a subordinate or no role at all. This week, an American and a Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Marc Rubio and Sergei Lavrov met in Saudi Arabia for initial talks. Both governments also want to improve their relations, which represents a break with the policies of Trump's predecessor Joe Biden. Trump had previously caused international unrest with various statements: Panama, for example, is treating the USA "unfairly" with regard to the important Panama Canal waterway, Trump referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a "governor", and Trump wants to "buy" Greenland, which politically belongs to Denmark. Most recently, Trump's Vice President J. D. Vance provoked fierce criticism at the security conference in Munich. In his speech, Vance accused European states of "undemocratic behavior." Herfried Münkler explains the consequences of this for Europe, which is closely linked to the USA through the transatlantic alliance NATO: "The Europeans must decide whether they want to be part of the developing system of the five superpowers." In his book "World in Turmoil. The Order of Power in the 21st Century," Münkler identified the USA, China, Russia, India and possibly the European Union as these superpowers. Münkler continued to tell t-online: "Or whether the Europeans want to be a recipient of orders from Washington or Moscow or Beijing." The political scientist sums up: "That is what the current upheaval in power is all about." Justin Trudeau suspects that Trump's comments against his country are based on an interest in Canada's rich mineral resources. Ukraine's mineral resources are also an issue for Trump. Politically, the US president made disrespectful comments about his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, who, according to Trump, was a "dictator without elections". This statement by Trump provoked sharp criticism from Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for example.