🔗 Share this article

On the exact date Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration published an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This fairly short paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically humble assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the document largely formalizes the ongoing actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious caution for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Fear

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its language seems lifted directly from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-confidence." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the genuine and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-confidence." Per the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economies and armed forces strong enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Foundational Theories of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong echoes of two concepts seen as foundational for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "weakness" 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 overt conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "native" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "The United States encourages its political allies in Europe to advance this resurgence of spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US contends that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on implementation, it is apparent that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly regarding right-wing speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the situation is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be summarised in clear and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond accordingly.