Recently, alot of talk has gone on about North Korea’s development of nuclear capabilities. Threats back and forth between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un brought the situation to center stage. It’s become more of a spectacle of which leader holds more power, instead of being a productive negotiation that will hopefully lead to a solution.
Ego very easily integrates itself into the positions and rhetoric of each side of this conflict. While both countries figureheads are very different, they both have built their leadership upon a cult of personality. Therefore, ego is inherently ingrained to every position that they convey to the public.
Trump’s image among his following as a supreme dealmaker, and negotiator is at stake when Kim makes threats regarding nuclear capability. On the other hand, Kim cannot let himself be belittled in front of his people, who regard him as a supreme leader.
The overwhelming strength of these two egos leaves no room for negotiation. Given the heightened frequency of missile tests, the time frame for a peaceful negotiation would be nonexistent either way.
This is the time in which a calm, collected leader would prove indispensable for the U.S. However, we run great risk dealing with North Korea, as Trump has continued to escalate tensions with his rhetoric on Twitter, and in his speeches.
What we as citizens have to understand, is that this rhetoric does nothing to benefit our cause. It’s easy to talk tough on Twitter, and claim to take a hardline stance on North Korea. Regardless of what our President says, it is our military, and intelligence agencies that are putting in the research and groundwork to find a solution.
Name calling, and trading threats with Kim ascribes more legitimacy to the threat than need be and instills widespread fear of nuclear action. Goading a quicker and more aggressive response will only shrink the timeframe we have to disarm Kim, and increase the potential for loss of life.
The strength of rhetoric is greatly undervalued by our president, and is used wantonly through Twitter. Forceful words have their place, especially when dealing with irrational actors like North Korea, but are not effective when conveyed through a medium like Twitter.
North Korea is a frustrating actor to deal with in international politics. However, the last thing we need, is to let their lack of cooperation affect our relationship with our allies.
What Trump has failed to realize in the realm of international relations, is that codependency between us and our allies is our greatest tool against North Korea. Instead, harsh rhetoric has made us appear irrational, hotheaded, and overall more like North Korea to our allies.