‘Transactional’ – as it relates to our rapidly disappearing grip on what’s going on in the world’s geopolitics – is emerging as the latest in the weaselly obfuscation of perfectly well-meaning words before their subsequent reappearance to normalise toxic quasi-ideological dogma.
‘Transactional politics’ rings so much better than ‘competitive authoritarianism’, in the same way that something sounding as blameless as ‘neo-liberalism’ is now interchangeable with right-wing capitalism with its monopoly endgame and unremittingly shameless effects that are as far from liberal or democratic as you can get.
Not so long ago, transactional government policy – including in many countries in the Middle East – described a certain type of give-and-take in which relationships with other nations were based on immediate reciprocity rather than long-term alliances, shared principles or ideological commitments.
This new, pragmatic, deal-focused strategy often comes at the expense of multilateralism and international norms, posing challenges for countries unable to meet the might and demands of ambitious superpowers or to compete effectively on the global stage.
Transactional has now stretched to refer to faux ‘businesslike’ government attitudes when it comes to national spending.
In real life, here as elsewhere, that means less spent on what it regards as “non-essential” matters such as arts, culture and foreign aid and increases for military, defence, health and education budgets.
Nothing very new, except its very blatancy.
It seems we wake every morning to more shocking news – and underneath it is always the undermining of ideas and institutions we have long deemed precious and important: the norms and rules of democracy, global organisations, post-second world war alliances, the definition of what constitutes a dictator, the concept that countries should cooperate for a common global good or the very idea of human decency.
So that is where we are at, and the world will navigate Trump’s zero-sum mindset in a variety of ways.
Decisively, one hopes. And in ways that honour and empower the best in us, instead of a craven and embarrassing parade of naked egos.
Forfeited Russian funds have been sequestered in a Swiss bank account for three years while the world has been watching Ukrainians slog it out in trenches and bombed-out cities with both hands tied behind their back and without sophisticated air cover – the promised aid always just over the horizon, including promised billions from the US.
The seismic shift in shameful Western self-interest is long overdue.
If only because doing nothing has not gone well for incumbent governments in this last year. At least it’s something collaborative and grown-up, for goodness’ sake.
From the outside, the smug nihilist cruelty has been truly shocking – 200,000 workers in the US sacked, tens of thousands around the world whose lives depended on US aid that vanished overnight, the citizens of Ukraine who fought a brutal three-year war only to be excluded from talks between the US and their Russian aggressors, or the Gazans confronted with the ludicrous idea that they leave for an unknown destination so the real estate developers can move in.
The crunch has been coming for a long time. America has been something of a democratic basket case with its electoral college, oppositional upper and lower Houses, the bewildering changes in political flavour in mid-term elections (which may become a factor this year), and the CIA’s insatiable tinkering with other people’s democracies.
Now we know that this dangerous new order is here to stay and we must adapt or our clever, agile, near-magnificent civilisation will follow Ozymandias into oblivion.
The breakthrough into a more collaborative European response came this last week. Remilitarisation of Europe and solid plans for its defence would have been unthinkable two months ago. Now leaders are around the table and multilateral conversations are working on solutions including local procurement and collaborative redistribution of weaponry.
Half a world away, we can be forgiven for feeling sheepish, our own coalition government with its shameful hard right Act dogma and feverish attachment to illusory ‘growth’ having been hard to swallow this last year.
However, when the ActionStation Aotearoa not-for-profit incorporation surveyed 4000 of us recently, a whopping 90 percent of us said the current government does not reflect the needs of our communities.
Other worrying issues included healthcare, hospital accessibility and quality (70 percent), affordable housing and homelessness (60 percent), economic inequality and poverty reduction (60 percent) and 93 percent of us believed that honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi is important for our country.
Eighty percent of those surveyed supported public housing as a key solution to the ongoing housing crisis, 87 percent believed dental care should be delivered through a public health system, just over 80 percent said they oppose privatisation of our public services generally while just under 70 percent supported a fairer tax system, including the introduction of wealth or capital gains taxes.
“We are watching the chaos and destruction of political leaders using wealth and power against people and our planet, while distracting us with divisive ‘culture wars’,” the ActionStation team concluded.
“But the veil is coming off. Now is the time to face the chaos with our clarity. The division with our kotahitanga. And the destruction with fierce, determined aroha”.
• Liz Waters
© Waiheke Gulf News Ltd 2025
