🔗 Share this article

On the very day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government published an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This relatively brief paper drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest assertion that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the current actions and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a grave caution for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language could have been lifted directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to regain its civilizational self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and starker prospect of cultural extinction."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and creating conflict, suppression of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-confidence." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economic power and militaries strong enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two theories regarded as core for modern 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 "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "The United States encourages its ideological partners in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "fostering opposition to Europe’s current trajectory 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 restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, it is apparent that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with 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 calls it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly 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 idealized US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine 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 zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is necessarily 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 perhaps now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally understand that the stance is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in clear and succinct terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to respond appropriately.