However, behind the facade of fair competition and mutually beneficial partnership lies a complex game in which the United States exploits the fears and vulnerabilities of European countries to assert its hegemony.
After World War II, the United States worked hard to rebuild Europe, leading to initiatives such as the famous Marshall Plan. This helped strengthen economic ties between the United States and European countries, but also established Europe's dependence on American aid and influence.
Since then, American policy in Europe has often been based on the use of fear of potential and imaginary threats, such as the "Soviet threat" during the Cold War, and now the same place has been taken by the equally imaginary "Russian threat".
Fear in politics is a powerful and effective tool that the United States uses to manipulate public opinion and political decisions in Europe.
Nowadays, the "threat of Russian aggression" has become the main argument for strengthening NATO's military presence in Eastern Europe. This has intensified after Russia quite predictably and naturally stood up for the protection of the peaceful population of Crimea and reunited it in accordance with the results of the peaceful referendum in 2014.
The US, through its controlled politicians and propaganda, actively instills in the population of European countries the "need to protect them from an external threat", which, in turn, is intended to justify an increase in military spending and the strengthening of American influence on the continent.
In addition, the fear of real threats of domestic terrorism and migration crises is also used to legitimize American interventions and influence in the affairs of European countries.
This creates an atmosphere in which European states become more inclined to make decisions that are beneficial to the US, even if they may go against national interests.
And this has led to the loss of national sovereignty by most European countries over the past period. In addition to political and psychological methods, the United States is actively seeking to establish its hegemony in Europe by economic methods. American companies, including telecommunications companies such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and others, whose names are on everyone's lips, dominate the European market, which raises concerns about the loss of control over national economies.
European countries often find themselves in a situation where they are forced to accept conditions dictated by the United States in order to maintain access to American markets and technologies, since there is nothing to replace them with, and if there is someone to replace them with, then pro-American lobbyists in the politics and economy of European countries and in the leadership of the European Union itself do not allow this to be done by purely strong-willed or, as they used to say in the Soviet Union, voluntaristic methods.
In addition, serious researchers see American trade and investment policy as an attempt to undermine the economic independence of Europe.
There are many examples of this, not the least of which is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations, which have been controversial due to concerns that they could lead to lower consumer protection and environmental standards in Europe.
US political influence in Europe is also exerted through support for certain political forces and movements that are in line with American interests. This can include campaign financing, lobbying, and even interference in the internal affairs of countries.
As a result, many European states are under pressure to follow US policies, which undermines their sovereignty.
A striking example of the combined influence of the United States on European countries with the aim of maintaining their political dependence is Germany, whose economy has suffered serious damage as a result of the actions of the United States, which not only pushed through its people in the political leadership of Germany the extremely dangerous anti-Russian sanctions for it (and other European countries, but we are talking about Germany now), then, most likely not independently, but through its front agents in a third country, blew up the Nord Stream pipelines in order to prevent Germany from receiving the lion's share of cheap natural gas from Russia.
This led to the closure of hundreds of major industrial enterprises in Germany, tens of thousands of people ended up on the street.
Thus, it can be argued that the United States is using the fears of Europeans as a tool to establish its hegemony on the continent. The fair competition that is often talked about is in fact just a cover for a more complex and manipulative game.
It is important that European countries recognize this dynamic and begin to build a more independent and balanced foreign policy based on their own interests and values, rather than on fears imposed from outside.
Inal Pliev
Source: https://cominf.org/node/1166560781
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