Political Theatre Of The West: Tragedy And Comedy, War And Peace

By Terry Nettle

The current brand of Western Political Theatre seems to have surpassed the ancient Greek theatre in so many ways that they are as bewildering as they are toxic. Above all, they are performed more for wars than for peace. They thrive on conflicts, belligerence and arrogance.

Politics has been turned into a political theatre by the antics of the many unscrupulous politicians. Everything seems to now turn on fame and on celebrity status.

As Western Political Theatre is providing all the drama, it is inevitable that the celebrity status and showmanship of Western politicians are in the spotlight all the time.

Among those Western politicians, a number of them are featured almost daily in the media as they try to catch the most eyeballs in everything that they do. They offer the best examples of the habitually gambling politicians in the world casino theatre of politics.

A selection of such Western politicians who are best known for their celebrity media profiles can be a very interesting collection. Indeed, if the consequences of their reckless gambling in the casino theatre of politics were not so serious, one might be tempted to say that their extraordinary antics and showmanship in the casino theatre of politics are actually quite entertaining!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Terry Nettle
• Release date: Dec 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215240991

Book preview

1. Trump

Adark horse who came from the shadows to dramatically capture the USA presidency in 2016, Donald Trump was a skillful political manipulator within the uniquely adversarial and confrontational American political system.

His America First and Make America Great Again (MAGA) platform to preserve US supremacy and hegemony was crucial in winning his presidential election in 2016 against the hapless Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton.

One might say that Trump came onto the US political stage at the perfect moment to capture the US presidency when the Democrats made the terrible mistake of nominating Hillary Clinton as their presidential candidate. Trump was successful because he was a demagogue who was skilled in fear-mongering and in inciting popular sentiments against the elite. He was successful also because America was not yet ready for a female president and most American do not relish having another Clinton in the White House. In addition, the conflict between immigrants and the white supremacists had sharpened all over America.

It was a watershed moment in American history as he captured the mostly-white conservative electorate in America who felt threatened by liberal America and by the rapidly increasing migrant population. It basically turned USA inward to counter the democrats' increasingly liberal and promiscuous policies. 

From April 2019, US President Donald Trump started to ratchet up his rhetoric and actions against China. This was partly his strategy to deflect blame for his mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic at home in USA. But it was also his new Trumpian strategy to compete with a rising China over trade, technology and global dominance and to use Taiwan as a US pawn against China. This was a clear departure from previous US policies of peaceful co-existence and cooperation with China, and marked the beginning of the highly dangerous and explosive superpower rivalry that so threatens world peace today.

Without a doubt, Trump heads the list of politicians who had plunged the world into a new era of conflict, confrontation, and war.

After he lost his reelection bid in 2019, he refused to accept the result and claimed the election was stolen from him