meltonblue
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 14 May 2013
- Messages
- 7,091
Lets not kid ourselves the UK's international standing seems to have gone years ago. The only reason why we are a world power is due to our nuclear capability.
With the exception of maybe Kenyans, people in most Africa countries blame the UK for many of their problems and see Russia and China as the panacea to the west. Russia obviously supporting their favoured dictator in countries undergoing civil war by using the Wagner group and their other mercenary affiliates.
With the advent of the internet in the more developed African nations, the negative aspects of the UK's (and France's) colonial past have been amplified, whilst the positive aspects have been diminished due to extortionate loans for infrastructure from the likes of China and Russia that they can never afford to repay. But to the locals the new road, train line, water supply was built by China or Russia for them, making them appear philanthropic when in reality its just another form of indebtedness.
I agree to an extent about a lot of Africa but don’t agree that’s true elsewhere. I’d also argue there’s other aspects that give us power alongside our nuclear capability, as much as it pains some the BBC being one of them.
You’re right it’s not what it was but it is still there, despite our own efforts to self harm it and underestimate it and personally I think any more movements to being isolationists would be incredibly damaging. We’re not America, as much as some are trying to turn our political landscape into theirs.