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The US diplomatic doctrine of "America First" and its obsession with absolute victory and security have had unexpected impact on other countries and the international order.Once considered the bellwether of globalization, the US is now strong-arming other countries over trade and undermining trust on which free trade across borders stands. The US calls itself the "world's police," but it frequently cracks the military and economic whip to aggravate an already tense international situation.The US government believes such controllable chaos is the key to realizing "America First." But other countries believe Washington's strategy is shaking the international foundation built during the post-Cold War period and will have long-term consequences. The chaos created by the US may eventually ruin the country's diplomatic credibility achieved over the years.It seems that the US government wants to keep diplomacy on the boil. It broke friendly trade relations with North America, Europe, Japan and China, and even threatened to withdraw from the World Trade Organization (WTO). The US aims at renegotiating trade deals to win more preferential treatments for US industry. But what the US is seeking runs contrary to the principles of justice and reciprocity in international trade.The US also withdrew from most international organizations and agreements that went against its stance, and refused to shoulder international responsibility.In security, the US flexed its muscle at almost all rivals. This was meant to get rid of all external security risks. The US government upped the pressure on North Korea , Venezuela and Iran. Economic sanctions and military deterrence have become the US government's mainstay to resolving international issues.In technology, the US adopts protectionism and works to change technological connectivity and coordinated development. The current US government thinks the country's technological advantage should not be shared by other countries. The US Department of Commerce expanded export controls by adding artificial intelligence and quantum computing to the list. The US government's crackdown on Huawei and ZTE Corp and its unfriendly moves over Chinese students in American universities are proof of such technological protectionism.The US pursues absolute security and dominance. Although the strategy that follows the law of the jungle and winner takes all affects the international society, the US academic community and think tanks generally agree with Washington.As a result, the US government may give full play to such absolute strategy, the key to which is forming small coteries based on different issues and stances, and sabotaging international society's cooperation on issues of mutual concern. Only in this way can the US splinter international consensus and order, and turn the situation into one-to-one competition, like between companies.However, such strategy has three uncontrollable risks. The US wants to use unilateralism to consolidate its hegemony, but it may backfire.First, taking an approach that resembles corporate attitude to businesslike approach to competition between countries may make the situation go out of control and affect effective decision-making by the country. Laws, government and trade associations can restrain business competition. But there is no mechanism to restrain national competition, which makes it hard to be dealt with. There will even be acts that breach the bottom line. The US government did not give much thought to where this competition would lead. Recently, a US government official said that China-US competition is a "clash of civilizations." This shows that the US government is no longer calm because of the competition, which may lead to Washington's highly risky policies.Second, the US may have overestimated its ability to strong-arm other countries. The US believes other countries are bound to make concessions, meeting the needs of its economy, politics or security and that the US gaining benefits from these concessions would contribute to its rising national power and stronger foothold. But history shows that countries may not yield to military or economic pressure. Instead, they may unite and put up a fight, making the oppressing country pay more than it expected.Third, the US has underestimated the difficulty to rebuild the international order. Washington's ultimate aim is to establish a new order that is more beneficial to the US. But international order depends on mutual trust and consensus among countries. Once the old order crumbles, it takes a long time to form a new one. Washington pursues absolute security and advantage, but this will not change the general trend of multi-polarization and decentralization of power.The author is an associate research fellow with the Institute of American Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn