The international order forged after World War II is imploding, squeezed on all sides by the return of strongmen, nationalism and spheres of influence — with President Trump leading the charge.
Trump is openly scornful of international institutions and traditional alliances. Instead, he sees great opportunity in a world dominated by superpowers and dictated through dealmaking.
Trump’s approach is based, according to U.S. officials, in “realism” — and the belief that “shared values,” international norms and other squishy concepts can never replace “hard power.”
“The postwar global order is not just obsolete,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared at his confirmation hearing last month. “It is now a weapon being used against us.”
Where the U.S. once helped enforce global norms, such as on trade, Trump is undercutting them.
Trump’s first term posed newfound threats to 20th-century alliances and structures — NATO, the World Trade Organization, even the UN.
A second Trump term could render them virtually obsolete.
The frailty of the rules-based order was exposed this week on the preeminent global stage built to support it.
At the UN General Assembly on Monday, the U.S. voted against a resolution condemning Russia for invading Ukraine on the third anniversary of the war.
It was the first time since 1945 that the U.S. sided with Russia — and against Europe — on a resolution related to European security, according to the BBC’s James Lansdale.
Nearly all other Western leaders see Russia as a rogue state and an aggressor. Trump sees a potential partner.
