5 - Significance of the Global Financial Crisis

Summary

The global financial crisis of 2008–9 morphed into political, economic and social problems, mainly for the United States, demonstrating its fading power within the global picture. Domestic disruptions and dislocations of a magnitude few had foreseen followed. It disclosed how fragile the US political system had become, confronting it with events that required bipartisan measures to address in the interests of the nation and, even more so, in the interests of the world.

History may well record the crisis as an event that changed the attitudes of Americans. In 2011, 38 per cent of Americans were of the opinion that the United States stood above all other countries in the world. In 2017, the figure was 29 per cent. Even if the percentage of Americans saying that there are other countries that are better than the United States has not gone above 15 per cent, the smaller percentage that see their country as the best is significant, as it signifies a reduced willingness to finance and support a policy of “exporting” the model. The support for the kind of foreign and security policies that the United States had for decades sustained—policies anchored in values—is now much weaker.

A survey conducted in twenty-two countries in 2011 revealed that 66 per cent of people had a favourable view of the United States, compared to 25 per cent who saw it as a major threat. Only five years later, the figure for those with a favourable view of the United States was down to 51 per cent, with those seeing it as a threat having risen to 45 per cent. The biggest swing was seen in Germany (30 percentage points), France (29 percentage points) and Mexico (26 percentage points). The figure for the other neighbour of the United States, Canada, was at 23 per cent.

These two surveys convey the picture of a superpower that is losing both domestic and international support for its global role— especially from its allies and neighbouring countries. The figures for its two neighbours augur fundamental trouble, with 66 per cent of Mexicans and 46 per cent of Canadians saying that the United States is a major threat. With regard to US policy and its position in Asia, the percentage of people classifying the United States as a major threat among its two main allies, Japan and Korea, are 66 and 67 per cent, respectively.