US retreat from values-based diplomacy creates risks and opportunities for smaller nations

Former US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, Tom Malinowski, has warned that the United States is moving away from its traditional values-based foreign policy, creating both challenges and opportunities for smaller countries such as Nepal.

Speaking at Bodhi Sambad, a dialogue organised by the Centre for Social Innovation and Foreign Policy in Kathmandu on Thursday, Malinowski said the global contest between democratic and authoritarian systems remains fundamentally a struggle over values and human rights.

Opening his remarks, Malinowski expressed concern over the arrest of Myanmar scholar and democracy advocate Min Zin, who was reportedly detained in China after attending an academic conference.

“Today, he is in prison for the crime of conducting research in China,” Malinowski said, describing the incident as a reminder that major powers differ significantly in their commitment to human rights and democratic freedoms.

Malinowski, who served in the administration of Barack Obama, said US foreign policy had traditionally sought to promote free elections, freedom of expression, minority rights, anti-corruption efforts and support for smaller countries facing coercion from larger powers.

According to him, such values-based diplomacy strengthened American influence globally and distinguished the United States from rivals such as China and Russia.

However, he argued that the current administration under Donald Trump has embraced a more transactional approach to foreign policy, prioritising power and national interests over democratic values and human rights.

Malinowski cited recent cuts to foreign assistance programs, refugee support and scientific initiatives, saying the shift risks undermining the international rules-based order that has long benefited the United States and its allies.

He warned that a foreign policy driven solely by power and economic interests ignores the influence of ordinary people and smaller nations in shaping history.

“Not every country can be a military power. Not every country can be an economic power. But any country in the world with a little bit of courage and the solidarity of its friends can be a moral superpower,” he said.

Despite growing geopolitical competition, Malinowski said smaller countries have opportunities to increase their influence by upholding democratic values, strengthening civil society, protecting media freedom and combating corruption.

He pointed to Ukraine and the Baltic states as examples of countries that have gained international influence by taking principled stands against authoritarian pressure.

Referring to Nepal, Malinowski praised the country’s recent youth-led protests, saying they had inspired young people in other countries to challenge corruption and political elites.

“Nepal can have influence far beyond its size if its leaders uphold the principles that those young people protested for,” he said.

Concluding his address, Malinowski urged smaller democracies to help fill what he described as a temporary “moral void” in global leadership and to defend democratic principles in the face of rising authoritarianism.

The Bodhi Sambad event brought together policymakers, scholars and experts to discuss the role of smaller states in navigating an increasingly polarised international order.