Axis of . . . 

AXIS OF…?

Foreign policy spokespersons for the US are talking about a new “axis,” reminiscent of World War II’s Axis powers, led by Germany, Italy and Japan. The term was picked up by George W. Bush, who referred to an “axis of evil,” which included Iran, Iraq and North Korea. The “new axis powers” China, Iran, North Korea and Russia are variously described in the press as the “axis of upheaval”, “quartet of chaos”, “alignment of evil”, “deadly quartet”.

Now what do these four nations have in common? They are not all communist, nor even autocracies. (There are meaningful elections in Iran.) But they all reject the domination of world politics and the world economy by the US and its allies (“the West”). And the West (including both Democratic and Republican parties in the US) does not like their “behavior”, a term that implies that the world must follow Western “norms” or be punished like unruly school children. The four nations also help each other with weapons transfers, industrial support and technology diffusion.

The danger of treating the four countries of the “new axis” as enemies is that they become an excuse for ever-higher military budgets that in turn become an excuse for cutting funds for education, child care, elder care and a raft of desirable domestic programs. 

Source: The Economist, 9/28/24) and The New York Times, 10/1/24