Srinivas Kamat
When news first came out about the North Korean detente and the possibility of Donald Trump meeting their leader Kim, one felt that for all the criticism that Trump had been facing in his Presidency, there was something in his head. Not only that the fast paced developments since the two Koreas meeting and then finalising the date and venue of the Trump-Kim meeting, one felt that the Korean Peninsula would be de-nuclearised and finally there would be a de-escalation of tension in the region and peace would be ushered in for the Korean people.
The culmination of all this was the very successful Trump-Kim meeting at Singapore on June 12, 2018. One must say here that the South Korean leader, Moon must also be given credit here for the meeting to happen. Critics have made little of the meeting calling the joint declaration very vague and short on specifics, but then these people very well know that more goes on behind the scenes at such meetings than what is disclosed publicly.
Not only that for sworn enemies who were cursing each other until recently, the manner in which the meeting was conducted and that a joint declaration was at all released is a great achievement. In this summit, Trump was the one who had everything to lose if things did not turn out the way it was expected. While for Kim either way he would win since sharing the world stage with Trump and the legitimacy it implied to the North Korean government were his major takeaways whether a joint declaration was made or not or a commitment to de-nuclearise the Korean peninsula was made or not was immaterial. But what is to be admired is the confrontational style that Trump maintained with Kim and which finally worked.
Trump has been using this style with other countries too. China has had a taste of it and under pressure was forced to open up more farm imports from the US. This is the corporate style that Trump has brought to the US Presidency. Whether it is good or bad only time will tell. That it is unusual, there is no doubt. That it is different from the staid and rigid governmental diplomatic rigmarole is definitely true. But it seems to be working nonetheless. Shades of brinkmanship can be seen in this style reminiscent of the Cold War era to see who blinks first and winner takes all attitude.
For a man slighted during the Presidential campaign of being dumb on international affairs to which Donald Trump also contributed no little with numerous gaffes, the man is turning international diplomacy on its head. He is winning up to now, let’s see what the future brings in. Congratulations, Donald Trump and keep it up
