The withdrawal from UNESCO is a very important indicator that the United States is giving up leadership, but not its hegemonist policies, says Dmitry Suslov, Programme director at the Valdai Discussion Club. Over time, this will weaken the credibility of the US, its soft power and the ability to influence other countries.

       The announcement of the United States’ withdrawal from UNESCO confirms the trend that Washington has demonstrated after it quitted the Trans-Pacific Partnership and especially the Paris Agreement on combating climate change, namely a sharp increase in the American foreign policy unilateralism. Unilateralism is a long-standing and powerful part of the US foreign policy, which is always reinforced by Republican administrations, especially in recent times. Here, one can draw analogies with the G.W. Bush administration, but under Donald Trump unilateralism reached a qualitatively new level.

       Indeed, it is one thing to get out of the agreements like the Kyoto Protocol, the Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines, and quite another to quit the leading organization in the field of cultural, humanitarian and scientific cooperation, where the US participated throughout its existence. This is not a quantitative, but a qualitative enhancement of unilateralism. Thus, the Trump administration implements the “America First” policy and declares that it is not concerned about the production of global public goods, with issues that interest all the humanity, but will promote its own national interests.

       If the US administration and the United States as a whole do not see how participation in an organization promotes their national interests in this narrow mercantilist understanding, they declare that they can and will withdraw from these organizations. A very utilitarian approach to international relations, to the United States’ participation in the international system, is being postulated. If the US participates in an organization and makes a financial contribution to its activities, then it should get immediate return, here and now, not indirectly, in the form of enhancing American moral standing.

       The United States’ withdrawal from UNESCO is a turning point in such mercantilist, egoistic and unilateral foreign policy. Naturally, the international reaction will be extremely negative. The US makes it clear that it is no longer interested in American leadership as it was proclaimed and implemented over the past decades, since Harry Truman with regard to the West and since Bill Clinton administration with regard to the whole world.

       Quitting UNESCO is a very important indicator that the US is giving up its leadership, but not its hegemonist policies. Over time, this will weaken the credibility of the US, its soft power and ability to influence other countries. Most of the cooperation in the field of science, education and culture will be moved to bilateral levels. Moreover, this will deepen the internal split between Republicans and Democrats, because a large part of Republicans will approve this step, while Democrats will oppose it, since they are in favour of a more multilateral foreign policy.

       Trump proclaimed this approach to international organizations in his speech at the UN, when he said that they should bring tangible material benefits to those countries that pay for them. This is the apotheosis of American unilateralism in recent times and a turning point in the implementation of such unilateral of selfish hegemonism.

       Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.