Something for Nothing

Diplomacy historically hinged on relationships and alliances. Diplomacy was the practice of conducting negotiations, building relationships, and managing communications between nations or groups. It serves as the primary tool of foreign policy to resolve disputes and achieve national interests without resorting to violence. In everyday contexts, it refers to using tact and skill to handle people without causing offense. Like democracy and democracy principles which were expectations of life in the United States, relational diplomacy may be on its way out, dying a slow death to be replaced by transactional diplomacy and its “something for something” demands, except the current administration is very much leaning into a “something for nothing” approach.

Transactional diplomacy is not new. Relationships between countries and global entities have long included immediate gains or benefits because of negotiations. This kind of diplomatic engagement operates like a business deal, neglects the building of relationships and alliances and has the potential to exploit power dynamics with imbalance and lack of mutuality in gains and losses. Its impact can be observed in trade agreements, military pacts, and strategic negotiations, where states leverage economic, political, or military resources to secure favorable outcomes. And transactional diplomacy can include commitments to mutuality and gains. This new age of transactional diplomacy feeds on power and exploitation of those deemed less than.

In February of this year, the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe announced halting bilateral negotiations with the United States. In both cases, negotiations broke down because of perceived inequity in the terms of the MOUs presented. The Zambia-US bilateral deal was due to be signed last December, but it faltered after the US linked the billion-dollar deal to access to Zambian minerals, particularly copper and cobalt. The stumbling block for Zimbabwe was the US’ insistence on instant access to information about pathogens causing outbreaks, while refusing to agree to benefit-sharing of any products developed as a result of this access. The MOU was described as “clearly lopsided.”

“We believe this collaboration would have delivered extraordinary benefits for Zimbabwean communities – especially the 1.2 million men, women, and children currently receiving HIV treatment through U.S.-supported programs,” said US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Pamela Tremont. “We will now turn to the difficult and regrettable task of winding down our health assistance in Zimbabwe.”

The America First agenda is taking root around the globe with the use of transactional strategies that intend to get something for nothing from developing countries with the leveraging of US financial assistance. Where countries used to receive funding assistance from the United States for a variety of programs, those funds are being removed when countries choose not to agree to the terms of transactional deals that are not in their favor. Zimbabwe’s failure to acquiesce to the terms of the lopsided MOU, will result in loss of assistance. Zambia may face the same fate if it does not grant access to Zambian minerals. Tying access to much needed health care assistance to exploitation of natural resources, people and governments is no form of diplomacy.

Quid pro quo is being left behind in this newly formed transactional global environment where neocolonial principles are producing the age-old results of denying the worth of people of color.  There is no transaction of mutual benefit in these days. The new order is the demand for countries to give away what they have to benefit United States aggression and an America first agenda that does not seek to benefit the citizens and residents of the United States or anyone else around the world.

US presidents have long mixed economic incentives with diplomacy. But Trump’s approach represents something very different. It’s a foreign policy that operates outside institutional constraints and targets democratic allies. It exploits American power for personal gain in ways no previous president has attempted.

Zambia and Zimbabwe said no to deals that they deemed harmful to their countries, deals that were intentionally written to grant the US far more that they would have received. So far, the State Department has signed 18 bilateral global health MOUs with Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Panama, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. Panama became the first non-African country to sign an MOU in terms of the “America First Global Health Strategy”. These are packaged as health aid deals.

Meanwhile, the US brokered peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan granted the US exclusive rights to develop a transit corridor through southern Armenia, linking Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan. The White House says the corridor will be named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.

The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. Making America great again is being accomplished through the exploitation of those who have long trusted the leadership of the United States.

The challenges presented by this type of diplomacy is raising concerns around the world for many reasons. One concern is the authoritarian nature of the current use of transactional diplomacy. People and countries are finding themselves disenfranchised and further marginalized as this form of leadership progresses.

While a transactional approach isn’t unique in American foreign policy, Trump’s strategy marks a shift. Particularly in his second term, it resembles that of a typical authoritarian leader. Trump is carrying out his approach with minimal congressional or judicial constraint, with policies shaped by personal whims rather than institutional consistency.

Domestic challenges being imposed by the current administration are manifesting in global policies that are equally alarming and spreading at pandemic proportion globally.

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