🔗 Share this article

On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "peace prize" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This relatively brief paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble claim that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy largely codifies the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a serious warning for the world, and for the European continent specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language could have been taken directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to regain its civilizational self-assurance." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the genuine and more stark possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, suppression of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-belief." Per the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economic power and militaries powerful enough to remain dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These points carry strong echoes of two concepts regarded as foundational for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only political force 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" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding far-right 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 directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not regard Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will finally understand that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in plain and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to act accordingly.