Reaching Further Than Across an Aisle

While politicians in America struggle to find nice things to say about one another, global alliances are shifting. Of course, politicians are simply trying to get reelected, so their rhetoric and voting records reflect (and rightfully so in representative democracy) their constituents. According to this 2014 study from the Pew Research Center, America is becoming more polarized. While Americans struggle to agree on approaches for tackling various important matters, other nations are coming to their own terms.

Just this week King Salman of Saudi Arabia and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet for the first time. In fact, this will be the first official visit of a Saudi King to Russia, ever. Here we have two states on opposite sides of the Syrian war getting together, in part to talk about economics. In 2015, Saudi Arabia committed to investing $10 billion in Russian infrastructure and agriculture; the King did not even show up for that meeting. Who knows how large the next deal might be? But according to this report from the Rand Corporation, the two nations have already been in talks about Saudi Arabia buying Russian arms. Additionally, Russia will supply Saudi Arabia with gas and help the country lower its oil drilling and production costs.

All of this is happening without any economic or political involvement from America, and that is perhaps the most significant point. After World War II, our nation led the global economy to a period of relative peace by fostering a global system of trade. This helped both our nation and trading partners prosper in the post-war era. Now new trading alliances are developing, unsettling the geopolitical status quo and perhaps eroding America’s sway in the world. During a period with very little aisle crossing in Washington D.C., other leaders across the globe seem to recognize the economic benefits of reaching toward the other side.