IT is said that the official recording of International Relations began with Thucydides’ book, the Peloponnesian Wars, about the balance of power in the international system and insecurities in relations among states during the era of the Greek City States. In fact, the literature on International Relations existed long before Thucydides.

Ancient Hindu texts referred to the concept of balance of power in international affairs. See, Benoy Kumar Sarkar, “The Hindu theory of International Relations,” written since 1919, in the American Political Science Review, Vol. X111, No. 3. The ancient Confucian texts referred to aspects of International Relations but under a different name, “Universal Peace.”

Western scholars never acknowledged non-Western perspectives in the ancient world, preferring to date the beginning of International Relations with Thucydides’ book. If one examines the history of international affairs, from Thucydides to the 20th century, the expansion of NATO after the fall of the USSR, late into the 20th century, is an aberration in world politics.

There is no parallel in the history of world politics to that of the expansion of NATO after the fall of the USSR. The extension of NATO runs contrary to the pattern of conflict resolution in the history of warring states. In every settlement after war is concluded, there is a visible decrease in militaristic build-up; NATO is an exception in history, stretching from ancient times right up to this moment.

What happened in the early 1990s is that the second largest empire in geographical terms, in the history of the world, collapsed. The USSR was a vast empire that in terms of land mass and population was second only to only one historical empire – Pax-Britannica. The informal empire of Pax-American was dwarfed by the USSR.

With the disintegration of the USSR, the international system became uni-polar. The military might of the USA then dominated the global structure. It was illogical, irrational and insane for the world to extend whatever military pact existed in the era of the Cold War, and there were only two – NATO and the Warsaw Treaty Organization.

With the dissolution of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact Organization, an oceanic threat to Western countries died. The USSR became Russia and Russia was now just another great power without the might of empire. What normally should have happened was the demobilisation of NATO.

But an act of madness took place under President Bill Clinton. The subordinate states of the former USSR became independent and were invited to join NATO. The Western military alliance was expanding while the Cold War threat to NATO had died. There was an implicit understanding between the US and Russia under Boris Yelsin that NATO should not move closer to the Russian borders with the inclusion of former communist countries.

But President Clinton reneged on the agreement and that has created a nightmare for President Putin that he cannot bear to live with thus the invasion of Ukraine, a move that in international realpolitik could and should have legitimacy. But why did Clinton betray Yelsin and stretched NATO to the Russian shores? The answer is Germany.

Germany and the key Western European countries have a historical jealousy of Russia that goes back far into European history. That jealously has taken the twin form of hate and racism. To keep Russia isolated and surrounded, the Germans insisted that the former communist countries be accepted into NATO. There is no admission by Clinton in his memoir that he accepted the German request.

But he did. The expanded NATO then was the mechanism to keep Russia “in its place.” The defining moment was the coup by Western Europe and the Americans against the pro-Moscow president of Ukraine. The new regime in the Ukraine was offered membership in both the EU and NATO. This was lying at the heart of the Russian invasion.

A new dispensation is taking shape. President Trump was not an establishment player who spent long years in politics in Washington, DC, therefore he does not buy into the culture of NATO as an American-led force to keep Russia in its place. Trump, at the subliminal level, understands the Russian feeling about being insecure, though he does not speak about it publicly.

So this week, he made it plain to Europe that Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO, the Americans will no longer bankroll NATO and Europe must look after its security interests because America’s security interest lies elsewhere and not in Europe. This marks the first sign of the weakening of the NATO alliance. NATO has not been a force for fostering peace in the world. It is a rabid anti-Russian conspiracy that serves to preserve tensions in the international system. Mr. Trump should pull the US out of it and the UN should write its obituary.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.