What the World Will Look Like Without a ‘West’
Ongoing reports and analysis
After less than two months in power, U.S. President Donald Trump has delivered a shock to the United States and the world so profound that even calling it that risks feeling trite.
This is not the place to compile a litany of examples of the previously unthinkable or long-feared moves that Trump has attempted. Almost every day brings new examples, from his unprovoked and senseless trade war with Canada, with its hints of old-world imperialist expansionism, to his murky but long-anticipated rapprochement with Russia.
After less than two months in power, U.S. President Donald Trump has delivered a shock to the United States and the world so profound that even calling it that risks feeling trite.
This is not the place to compile a litany of examples of the previously unthinkable or long-feared moves that Trump has attempted. Almost every day brings new examples, from his unprovoked and senseless trade war with Canada, with its hints of old-world imperialist expansionism, to his murky but long-anticipated rapprochement with Russia.
As a long-standing provider and enforcer of a certain world order, Washington has grown accustomed to seeing whatever it does as a norm that others, like it or not, will have to adjust to—and will probably even appreciate one day. But as Americans struggle to come to terms with the seismic changes underway in their country, recent days have produced scenes abroad that show that, absent a major course correction, this time will be different.
I’m not talking about the plucky and admirable pushback of Canada and Mexico or of aggrieved smaller places such as Panama and Greenland. What I have in mind is the mounting response from some of Washington’s most important allies and partners further afield. One stunning example was the speech that Claude Malhuret © Foreign Policy
