Trump 2.0: Redrawing US strategy

The updated National Security Strategy signals a retreat from global leadership, and continuity in India’s role in the Indo-Pacific

- SHYAM SARAN

It was reported several weeks ago that the Trump administration was working on a National Security Strategy (NSS) document that would reflect its foreign and security policy intent for the rest of the presidential tenure.

Its release was delayed as the document's propositions were contested by different constituencies, including the Maga (Make America Great Again) base, the traditional Republican Party elite, and the foreign policy and security establishment — which continues to wield influence, though this has diminished under the administration.

The ideological imprint of the Maga constituency is clear, for example, in the brazen attacks on European allies, targeting current governments as ideological adversaries. This is virtually a repeat of the vituperative criticism of governments of European mainstream political parties by United States Vice-President J D Vance at the Munich Security Conference in February this year. He accused them of undermining democratic principles by suppressing right-wing political parties such as the AfD in Germany. Europe is said to be in danger of ‘civilisational erasure”, particularly for not following the anti-immigration policies of the ‘Trump administration and thus being in danger of losing its European identity.

The European allies of the US are also accused of hampering the pursuit of peace in Ukraine, even though the people of Europe are said to support an end to the war. The NSS states as a key objective the need for “reestablishing strategic stability” between Europe and Russia. No wonder that Russia has welcomed the NSS as being aligned with its interests.

While the NSS cannot be taken as a guide to US foreign and security policy except in very broad terms, it does reflect a certain altered mindset in engaging Europe. The notion of a coherent West has ceased to exist, confronting Europe with an existential crisis.