Pax Americana's end: What Trump's return means globally
"Pax Americana will officially end on January 20, 2025, when Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. Unlike his 14 predecessors, he is not interested in maintaining the international order. He has long perceived alliances as tributes in exchange for protection and does not believe in trade or open markets," says former U.S. ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder.
The expert believes that Trump's return to power seriously affects the U.S. and the world. "In his first term, Trump made clear he doesn’t buy into Washington’s global leadership role as his predecessors have done. He doesn’t believe in leading — he believes in winning," Ivo Daalder wrote in an opinion piece for Politico.
Meanwhile, according to him, since 1945, the world as we know it has largely relied on the idea of U.S. leadership, Pax Americana, which was intended to deter enemies and reassure friends, build prosperity by opening markets and encouraging the free flow of goods, capital, people, and ideas, and uphold the defence of freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.
Global leadership led to the creation of NATO and other alliances, helped rebuild post-war Europe and Asia, and opened up trade.
"America’s enemies long resisted this singular global role — but the Soviet Union succumbed to its internal contradictions, and China eventually realized it had to integrate into the global economy in order to lift its citizens out of poverty. Even so, Moscow and Beijing have long chafed at Washington’s leadership, and for the past decade, they’ve sought to counter and undermine it. They may now get their wish." - the expert assessed.
In his opinion, Trump is not interested in maintaining Pax Americana like his predecessors. "Trump isn’t interested in sustaining the Pax Americana in the ways his 14 predecessors were. He has long seen alliances as protection rackets, where a partnership’s value to the U.S. is how much it gets paid rather than the peace and security it provides. He doesn’t believe in trade or open markets, instead he favors imposing crushing tariffs on U.S. imports — up to levels last seen in the 1930s — even if all economists believe it will bring economic disaster," wrote Daalder.
He added that Donald Trump is also far from showing interest in defending democracy and the rule of law and, in fact, deeply admires strongmen who oppose these values.
Europe left to its own devices? "Washington is unlikely to be very helpful"
Daalder believes that as the U.S. shifts its focus away from alliances, Europe must prioritize its defense. Whether European nations take this step is ultimately up to them, but he commented that it's unlikely they will receive substantial support from Washington.
Ivo Daalder, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, is the Chicago Council on Global Affairs CEO and hosts the weekly podcast "World Review with Ivo Daalder."
