On September 4th, 2020 an unprecedented deal was made in the White House between two former adversaries – Serbia and Kosovo. The deal includes the normalisation of economic relations between the two states and promises simplified cohabitation of their peoples.
This deal, brokered by the Trump Administration, is a great example of experts getting it wrong. Many political commentators said that Trump would undermine the political order established by the West. But one might say this is the opposite of what has happened. Kosovo was a weak point in the Western diplomatic system, often exploited by President Putin to legitimise his actions in neighbouring countries such as Ukraine and Georgia.
Serbia recognised the sovereign rights of the people of Kosovo, as they gathered on the different sides of the President’s desk in the Oval Office. As Russel A. Berman mentions, the deal also shows, once again, how the Trump Administration has consistently countered malign Russian influence in the region.
Just a week before the agreement, under the mediation of the Trump Administration, a historic deal was made between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As a result, the UAE repealed a law boycotting Israel which had been in place since 1972, and Flight LY971 landed in Abu-Dhabi, carrying delegates including Donald Trump’s senior adviser and Israel’s National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat.
The global reaction to that agreement were surprising because just weeks after helping to broker peace between Israel and the UAE, President Trump has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. Many commentators have been caught out as they did not even anticipate his nomination, often due to their political bias against the current White House resident.
I believe Trump should have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize much earlier in his presidency – for a different great achievement. April 27th, 2018 the leader of North Korea entered the South’s territory for the inter-Korean Summit – this was the first time a North Korean leader set foot in South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953. The instigator was the same – the Trump Administration.
There are too many sceptics towards Trump’s bilateral agreements and relationships but in the aforementioned cases – despite his highly unconventional attitude and approach – it is clear that Trump’s efforts have improved and made easier the lives of the millions of people. It also has neutralised strategic threats and potential regional flare-ups, by creating promising dialogues, instead of exacerbating tensions and threatening behaviour.
If re-elected, I see no reason why Trump’s foreign policy successes should not continue – he would have a strengthened position and could well receive the Peace Prize while in office. Of course, this does not mean that the world is perfect, but perhaps President Trump is making the world a safer place – one tweet and one international agreement at a time.