🔗 Share this article

On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government released an equally 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 "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a grave warning for the international community, and for the European continent in particular.

A Blueprint of Interference 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 seems taken straight from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is steeped in generations of European far-right ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing strife, censorship of free expression and stifling of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity 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 not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to be reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

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

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These points carry powerful overtones of two theories seen as foundational for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the inevitable fall 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," 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 "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to advance this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

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 achieve this. Consequently, its "broad policy 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 "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is apparent that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly regarding far-right 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 explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Proclaimed 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 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 assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in clear and concise 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 reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.