America’s Strategy Is Changing from ‘Rule by Order’ to ‘Rule by Chaos’

America’s hegemonic strategy is casting a shadow on the safe development in many regions of the world. It is due to a declining America who cannot help but move to “rule by chaos,” as in manipulating chaotic situations to control regions, from “rule by order” as its strategy. “Rule by chaos” is a different type of strategy from the old one, it will undoubtedly bring special challenges to newly created great nations on their paths of peaceful development.

America’s pursuit of “rule by chaos” is directly due to its collapsed dreams of dominating the whole globe. Due to the frequent strategic failures, America has caused Central Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and other regions to fall into a messy and half-broken down state. Because of the financial crisis and the decline of its strength, America has tried more and more to maintain its hegemony with “controllable chaos.” The U.S. even allowed some regions to lose control. America would rather acknowledge the bankruptcy of its theory in regions where it does not have the energy or ability to control, and let the regions fall into disarray in order to prevent any anti-American forces from taking over the regional order in the short-term.

America’s fantasy of “rule by order” deflated because it cannot adjust to the international political demands of a new era. The most obvious demonstration of this is its inability to handle relationships with newly emerging great nations. Currently, America has three choices for its global strategy. One, it could change its course, adjust and build new relationships with great nations, control its monopolizing ambitions, and improve the global order. Two, it could start over and use America’s relationships with Western interest groups, redesign its hegemony blueprint, and maintain its status quo. This is America’s current path. It is trying to use the trans-Pacific partnership agreement and the trans-Atlantic trade and investment partnership agreement to reorganize its strategic relationships, build a new power center, and reinforce its territory. This would inevitably lead to cliques and cut-throat competition. Third, it could choose secondary regions outside its target regions. America could allow those areas to develop freely, or choose to “set fires” and “plant mines” there. Even if America cannot maintain its hegemony, it cannot give up nor go against “rule by order.”

The Asia-Pacific region is now key to maintaining a hegemonic order, and America has also begun to try “rule by chaos.” America chose to shift its strategic center east and strengthen its “rebalancing of the Asia-Pacific” strategy, which mainly targets China. This strategy has led to the endless disputes and conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region in recent years and is the ultimate reason for the emergence of a messy state of affairs. Right now, America is pursuing controllable chaos and tension in the Asia-Pacific, which has not reached the indulgent and vicious state in the Middle East and Middle Asia. America forced some countries to challenge China and used “color revolutions” in its attacks on China. Therefore, China needs to stabilize its home front. China is using the “one belt and one road” strategy (China’s Marshall Plan) to help third-world countries develop and isolate its competitors and is also using multiple tactics to make its hegemonic allies realize their situation. At the same time, looking for strategic partners, the comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia, and the relationships with countries in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) and the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are very important.