🔗 Share this article

On the very date Donald Trump received a tailor-made "peace prize" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This relatively short paper drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically modest assertion that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe 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 warning for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric could have been lifted directly from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to regain its civilizational self-assurance." More ominously, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the genuine and starker prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." Per the document, if "current trajectories 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 economic power and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to stand up for authentic democracy, free speech, and proud celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong echoes of two theories regarded as foundational for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to attack the "perversion" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on methods, it is apparent that a key aim is to pressure 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 phrases it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas 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 "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" 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 assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will finally realize that the situation is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in plain and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act appropriately.