To Hell With National Interest

The ‘national’ in national interest is meant to represent the public. However, at some point in the evolution of nation-states, the ‘national’ has come to represent the interests of something more than the public - essentially the interests of the power elite.

This reconceptualization of national interest, shifting away from the public towards catering to the power interests of the ruling elite, may explain the chaos we see around the world in both developed and developing countries.

Words are powerful, and powerful words create powerful realities.

The state monopoly on the concept of national interest has led to grave anti-public policies and actions, all justified under the name of national interest.

For example, decades of U.S. policy in the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan served the specific hegemonic interests of the U.S. deep state, but this came at the expense of the American public interest making America both, unaffordable and unsafer for the people. The same is true for many other countries around the world, including Pakistan, where the ruling elite, under the guise of national interest, conducted drone strikes and military operations on their own citizens for decades, killing thousands and displacing millions. Today, in the name of national interest, dictators around the world are cracking down on basic freedoms, liberty, and the dignity of citizens.

This all begs the question: What exactly is ‘national’ in the national interest? The answer to this question may also explain why the supposed national interest is being challenged in almost every country, with local ruling elites panicking and coming up new terminologies like digital terrorism, 5th Generation Warfare, and PsyOps to latch onto power.

In times like these, perhaps it is in the public interest to do away with the concept of national interest altogether.