A gangster’s-eye view of global power View(s):By Jayati Ghosh, PROJECT SYNDICATE, EXCLUSIVE TO THE SUNDAY TIMES IN SRI LANKANEW DELHI – There is a method behind the apparent madness of US President Donald Trump’s transactional, spheres-of-influence approach to geopolitics and the global economy. Can carving up the world among major powers deliver a more stable and dynamic capitalism at a time when the global economy appears increasingly volatile and rudderless? Relative stability, such as it was, rested on a combination of overwhelming military power and a framework of global rules and institutions designed to keep geopolitical rivalries in check. His proposed remedy is to rely on military dominance and residual economic power to secure direct control over resources and markets in regions he views as being within America’s exclusive sphere of influence. Disputes over access, borders, and control are therefore inevitable when one power attempts to assert dominance on every front, raising the likelihood of major wars.

Source: Sunday Times January 18, 2026 05:19 UTC