🔗 Share this article

On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government published an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This fairly short report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the ongoing actions and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a grave caution for the world, and for the European continent in particular.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language seems taken straight from speeches 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." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-confidence." According to the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether some European countries will have economies and armed forces powerful enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion genuine democracy, free speech, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Ideas of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two theories regarded as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "The United States urges its ideological partners in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not just on 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 evidently does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical Precedent: 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. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to interfere in the "Americas," which he proclaimed 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 "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the stance is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in plain and succinct terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to respond accordingly.