November 2023
Is the terrorist act that happened on the border of America and Canada a proof of the decline of the strength of the Western powers (America)?
The car explosion that took place on November 23 at the border crossing between the United States of America and Canada on the bridge over the Niagara River, as well as a series of related events, served certain Serbian media and part of the pro-Russian public to re-promote the previously known (Russian) a narrative about deep internal problems in the US and the constant weakening of American power.
In the program “Aktuelnosti” on TV Happy from November 23, the interlocutors analysed the mentioned event, placing it in a wider “context” that fits into the already existing and systematically spread narratives about the expressed weaknesses of the USA. The narratives are present in the text on the Happy portal, in which the conversation content in the show “Aktuelnosti” is highlighted.
As stated, although it is an individual event, which is qualified here as an act of terrorism, it is possible to draw certain conclusions since it shows the wider state of the United States of America. The text quotes the statement of Vojislav Šešelj, the leader of the Serbian Radical Party, that “this is a small event compared to everything that could happen throughout the Western world…we can expect much bigger things.”
It is also emphasized that America is a deeply divided society and that the dominant intolerance is between the white and black population, i.e. that there is a lack of solidarity between races, where it is particularly emphasized that the polarization of American society has already weakened and will continue to weaken the American role on the international stage. Happy uses the allegations as evidence that the US cannot continue to “rule as it has been” and that it will suffer a “fundamental and strategic defeat” internationally.
In a similar tone, the statement about the general decline in America’s popularity worldwide and the specifically reduced popularity of President Joseph Biden within the USA was presented. Therefore, the interlocutor’s statement was quoted: “America is the new Babylon…it will perish like Babylon.”
Although in the analysed text, one can find an emphasis on one concretely incorrect claim, there are mainly manipulations of facts and the drawing of unfounded conclusions, spreading the previously existing narratives in the domestic public about the weakening of the USA and the loss of the status of the most influential world power. The explosion event at the border crossing is not an act related to terrorism, which was emphasized in the text itself. Based on the conducted investigation, the FBI announced that it was not a terrorist act.
When it comes to the position of the US in international relations, surveys conducted by Gallup and Pew Research indicate that the perception of the American role in the world is predominantly positive and that, although opinions about the US vary over time, numerous leading countries of the world are mostly in favour of the US. A comprehensive survey by Pew Research from June 2023 suggests that an average of 59% of citizens in the 23 states surveyed have a favourable view of the United States.
Despite the present internal polarization, recognized and marked as one of the risks, the USA is still the leading military power in the world and, according to the most important parameters, the world’s largest economy, which maintains the foundations of its power.
Author: Igor Mirosavljević
