Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, his controversial statements about the future of the international order have left European leaders scrambling to grasp the shifting geopolitical landscape.
In an article published by The Washington Post, journalist Ishaan Tharoor argues that Trump envisions a world dominated solely by great powers and their loyalists, where he alone stands as the most formidable force.
“I don’t think we’re ever going back to the way things were,”— Alex Younger, Former Chief of Britain’s MI6 intelligence agency
Younger’s remarks, aired last week on the BBC’s Newsnight, sparked widespread discussion about the fate of the international order under Trump’s second term.
He asserted:
“We are in a new era where international relations will no longer be shaped by rules and multilateral institutions but by strongmen and deals. This is Trump’s mindset—certainly the mindset of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and [Chinese President] Xi Jinping.”
Trump’s recent actions have only reinforced this perspective.
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- On Monday, the U.S. joined Russia, North Korea, Belarus, and West African military juntas in voting against a UN resolution condemning Russian aggression on the third anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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- The move shocked European analysts, who see it as Trump’s clearest signal yet that he is willing to ignore global norms and bully allies.
The growing divide between the U.S. and Europe now represents
“the biggest rift between Western powers at the UN since the Iraq War—and possibly an even more fundamental one,”according to Richard Gowan, UN expert at the International Crisis Group.
Trump’s Vision: A World of Power Politics
Despite his escalating confrontations, Trump portrays himself as a peacemaker.
At a White House press conference this week, he declared:
“We’ve had some great conversations, including with Russia, since my return. My administration is decisively breaking away from past foreign policy values.”
Trump’s “America First” doctrine shows little concern for global multilateralism, which has underpinned U.S. foreign policy for generations.
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- Rather than acknowledging how the post-war international system, largely shaped by Washington, helped ensure U.S. dominance and economic prosperity,
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- Trump views the world as a zero-sum game—where America has been burdened with too many responsibilities, exploited by allies, and deceived by rivals.
According to this worldview:
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- The U.S. should engage only with powerful states.
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- Small nations and multilateral institutions are irrelevant.
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- America must act as the ultimate global power, dictating terms unilaterally.
This imperialistic posture is reflected in Trump’s actions:
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- Bullying neighboring Mexico and Canada in trade deals.
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- Threatening to annex the Panama Canal.
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- Suggesting the U.S. “absorb” Greenland.
As Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, author of The Hidden World: How Wealth Moves the World, explains:
“Trump’s foreign policy treats nations as mere arbitration sites for wealth extraction, rather than as independent sovereign states. This is ‘nationalist globalization’—pursuing America’s interests at all costs.”
A World of Strongmen: Trump’s New Geopolitical Alliances
In a Foreign Affairs article, Michael Kimmage, Director at the Kennan Institute of the Wilson Center, details how Trump aligns himself with “civilization-state” leaders like:
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- Vladimir Putin (Russia)
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- Xi Jinping (China)
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- Narendra Modi (India)
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- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Turkey)
These right-wing nationalist leaders:
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- Reject the liberal international order.
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- Frame their nations as heirs to glorious pasts that must be restored.
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- Distrust global elites and question Western institutions built on so-called “universal values”.
Kimmage argues:
“With Trump in power, the conventional wisdom in Ankara, Beijing, Moscow, New Delhi, and Washington will be that there is no single world order—no shared rules.This weakens the already fragile idea of ‘the West’ and further diminishes Europe’s geopolitical standing.”
Europe Faces the Reality of American Disengagement
European governments are already adapting to this new reality.
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- Friedrich Merz, Germany’s likely next chancellor, has vowed to reduce his country’s dependence on U.S. security guarantees.
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- Merz was outraged by Trump’s apparent endorsement of Kremlin narratives about the Ukraine war.
“This is a classic reversal of victim and aggressor. This is Putin’s rhetoric—one he has used for years. I am frankly shocked that Trump now appears to adopt it,”— Friedrich Merz, German Chancellor Candidate
Christopher Chivvis, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, warns that Trump’s second term may mark
“the opening salvo of a massive American effort to renegotiate its ties with Europe.”
Chivvis notes that Trump’s advisors have already floated provocative statements during their visits to European capitals this month, raising concerns about the future of NATO and U.S. military commitments to the continent.
“We don’t yet know how far Trump’s administration will go.But the bedrock of U.S. foreign policy—born during America’s rise to global superpower status—is about to undergo a profound transformation.”
Trump’s Strategy: A Reverse Kissinger?
The Trump administration seems to be attempting a “reverse Kissinger” strategy:
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- In 1972, Richard Nixon opened diplomatic relations with China to weaken the Soviet Union.
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- Trump, by contrast, appears to be courting Moscow to drive a wedge between Russia and China.
But can this strategy succeed?
Most analysts remain skeptical:
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Kui Hongjian, a European studies expert at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told The Washington Post:“China and Russia have built a far more comprehensive partnership than before.It extends beyond security to economic development.These are not the same countries they once were.”
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- He warns that Trump’s assumption—that Moscow could be pried away from Beijing—is deeply flawed.
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- He quotes a famous Greek philosopher:“No man steps into the same river twice.”
Conclusion: The Old World Order Is Crumbling
As Trump drags the world back into an era of great power rivalries,
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- His contempt for international institutions and embrace of authoritarian figures suggest that the post-WWII liberal order is collapsing.
While Trump views this shift as a personal triumph, the long-term consequences remain uncertain.
