Bullying smaller nations like Panama and Denmark for territorial concessions or trade terms projects weakness, not strength, and damages US credibility because the image of an aging superpower targeting weaker countries mirrors historical patterns that precede great-power conflict.
causalpending
Speaker
Ben RhodesEvidence Quote
“picking on Panama and Denmark and there was the dust up of the Colombians and there was the kind of near trade war with Canada and Mexico it does not feel like kind of a reassertion of American confidence these are smaller countries kind of feels like a bully on the schoolyard looking for someone small to beat up [9:59]”
Source
Ben Rhodes: The Warren and Anita Manshel Lecture in American Foreign Policy— Weatherhead Center for International AffairsCreated: 8/11/2026, 7:39:48 AM
My Notes
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