🔗 Share this article

On the very day Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration published an equally ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief report is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically modest assertion that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly codifies the ongoing policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious caution for the international community, and for the European continent in particular.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language could have been lifted directly from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-confidence." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, suppression of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-confidence." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether some European countries will have economic power and militaries strong enough to be reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, free speech, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two concepts regarded as foundational for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "The United States encourages its ideological partners in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US contends that it is essential to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only movement that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is apparent that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed in plain and succinct terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.