The price of alliance: Is US foreign policy still American?
While the global south states consolidate autonomy, the US finds its own sovereignty and independence compromised — not by external conquest, but by internal capture, says academic Ma Haiyun.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin on 31 August-1 September offered a striking contrast in today’s world order. On one side, leaders from civilisational states, notably China, India, Russia, Turkey and across the global south gathered to project unity, sovereignty and a multipolar vision of international relations. On the other side, the US — once the unrivalled architect of modern global nation-state institutions — was absent, its isolation compounded by its deep and often unquestioning alignment with Israel.
US sovereignty compromised by internal capture
This estrangement underscores a paradox. While the global south states consolidate autonomy, the US finds its own sovereignty and independence compromised — not by external conquest, but by internal capture.
Since 1948, American foreign policy has been deeply bound to Israel through extraordinary aid commitments, lobbying networks and discursive framings that steadily redirect US resources and constrain independence. In the post-Cold War era, Israel amplified the “clash of civilisations” thesis, casting itself as the frontline defender of the West, continuously and effectively enslaving American taxpayers.
From Europe to Africa to Asia, perceptions of hypocrisy sharpen: how can America demand accountability from rivals while shielding its ally from scrutiny and genocide?
For any sovereign nation, the scale of US support for Israel is extraordinary. Year after year, American taxpayers fund US$3.8 billion in guaranteed aid, making Israel the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign assistance since World War II. Unlike most recipients, Israel enjoys special privileges, including channelling US funds into its domestic arms industry. These commitments are not driven by popular voter demand but sustained by Israel’s lobbying power.
The consequences for US foreign policy have been profound. The Iraq war remains the clearest example. Scholars John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt argue that the Israel lobby played a decisive role in portraying Iraq as a strategic threat. The war cost trillions, destabilised the Middle East, and damaged US credibility — without producing benefits for American citizens. Similar dynamics persist in US confrontations with Iran, involvement in Yemen and diplomatic clashes with South Africa, and the sanctions against the International Criminal Court officials.
‘Make Israel great again’
Washington’s unwavering defence of Israel’s military campaigns against Gazan civilians, despite mounting civilian casualties, undermines its sovereignty and independence as well as credibility as an ethical power that once allegedly promoted democracy and human rights. From Europe to Africa to Asia, perceptions of hypocrisy sharpen: how can America demand accountability from rivals while shielding its ally from scrutiny and genocide?
Through lobbying, guaranteed aid and civilisational framing, American power is redirected abroad in ways that contradict American citizen priorities.
Domestically, the crisis plays out in parallel. The populist call to “Make America Great Again” reflected a desire for renewed sovereignty and independence, fewer foreign wars and financial aid, and domestic renewal and reform. Yet US politics remains tethered to what critics term “Make Israel Great Again”. Through lobbying, guaranteed aid and civilisational framing, American power is redirected abroad in ways that contradict American citizen priorities.
The Tianjin SCO summit symbolised the rise of civilisational states as autonomous actors in a multipolar order. By contrast, the US appeared absent — its sovereignty compromised, its moral authority diminished, and its foreign policy redirected by lobbying capture. If the first independence of 1776 liberated America from British colonial rule, the 21st century requires a second independence from Israeli lobbying rule.
