Unilateralism is an approach of international relations in which states act without consideration for other states and their interests. It is usually contrasted with multilateralism, in which states act cooperatively with other states.
However, unilateralism is often used in negative ways, therefore, scholars criticize unilateral actions. One common criticism is that it will lead other states to form an opposing alliance and it will spark counterbalancing by other major powers. The arguments are derived from the balance of power theory which is long stapled with realist thinking.
Since the last few years, new trends are being observed in geopolitics, such as China’s growing confidence in both trade and investment, Iran’s aggressive but calculative behavior and the rise of Turkey as a new power pole in West Asia. The most important of them all is a decline of the USA which is perceived through the number of crises during the last few years. The end of the Cold War had provided the USA the opportunity to pursue a unilateral decision making policy that can be observed in many issues, but was most important at the time of withdrawal from the Afghan war, the JCPOA and the Paris Climate Agreement. But the stories of withdrawal from the Afghan war and JCPOA reflect the consequences of the USA’s unilateral decisions
After the disintegration of the USSR, the USA has remained a superpower and been a centre of the world order. The US dominance was at its peak during the 1990s and multilateral institutions were overshadowed by its supremacy. In 2001, the USA attacked Afghanistan and got international support. During 2003, it went ahead with the plan of bombing Iraq despite the opposition of the United Nations. However, the global situation of the present is more complex than the past.
Unilateral policies and decisions always put the region and world at risk. Unilateralism is an illegitimate and selfish conduct that damages the soft power of the nation especially if it has large responsibilities. It also damages alliances and mutual relationships between nations which leads to unfishable disputes
After 20 years of war, the USA was eager to break the deadlock and agreed to have a dialogue with the Taliban. The negotiation between the two parties resolved the conflict and the USA agreed to withdraw from Afghanistan in exchange for a guarantee from the Taliban that they should never let Afghanistan be used by terrorists. However the peace agreement was not signed due to Donald Trump’s unilateral decision, then it was resumed after a few weeks.
The whole Afghan war exposes that the USA botched the war. Winning war is not just toppling a hostile regime but then stabilizing the country. US history shows it is good at the former but fares poorly at the latter. In Afghanistan, the USA had no other choice but to sign a peace agreement with the Taliban.
Washington left the Taliban in Kabul just like the USSR had left Najeebullah in Afghanistan in 1989. Then after a few months the Najeebullah government collapsed and the USSR disintegrated within two years. Let’s see whether history repeats itself or not.
Tension between Iran and the USA is another example of a unilateral US decision, when the USA pulled out from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. JCPOA is an agreement between Iran and five powers made on 14 July 2015. The agreement was endorsed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 on 20 July 2015. Despite Iran’s compliance with the deal, Washington unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA on 8 May 2018 and imposed all sanctions which were lifted by the agreement. The USA did not cite any evidence of Iranian noncompliance with the accord when it drew and according to the Arms Control Association, Iran remained in full compliance with the deal after the US withdrawal. Then within the two years Washington terminated all of the waivers for cooperative nuclear projects.
There was an immediate reaction by the international leadership, including the EU, France, Germany, UK, Turkey, China, Russia, Japan and Australia. All disliked the unilateral decision of the US administration and believed and agreed that having such a deal was a better option than no deal at all, and they believed that dialogue was better than confrontation. The unilateral decision of the USA has empowered Iran and weakens the diplomatic efforts as well as it puts the Middle East at great risk. The decision is an attempt to throw away nonproliferation verification measures and drag the world back to the brink it faced a few years ago. JCPOA was in the USA’s interest but the withdrawal from the deal is not. In future, US interests will be severely undermined.
These events do not mean US domination of the world is over. These events also show that the USA has failed to shape its world order and are affecting its status in the world. It is happening when China is boosting itself as an economic power and Russia is making a comeback to its former military powers.
Such decline of the USA and rise of new and old powers is due to the unilateral approach of Washington. Consequently, new disputes and confrontations all over the world are happening among the major powers in order to maintain their sovereignty and influence around the globe.
Unilateral policies and decisions always put the region and world at risk. Unilateralism is an illegitimate and selfish conduct that damages the soft power of the nation especially if it has large responsibilities. It also damages alliances and mutual relationships between nations which leads to unfishable disputes.
