Europe the Sacrificial Cow !
November 2025 marked the release of the new National Security Strategy of the United States of America—President Trump’s vision for America in the world and at home. For many in Europe, Trump’s preference for an isolationist America scares the hell out of them after suckling at the teat of American largesse since the end of World War II, happy to let the U.S. carry the burden of defending Europe’s borders. At the same time, they spent the savings on their bloated social security safety net.
The new National Security Strategy spells the end of the free ride and calls on Europe to take responsibility for its own defence, while inviting it to accommodate Russian ambitions within Europe.
The Europeans find themselves challenged by the conditions of Trump’s contemporary world order, where, once, America could be relied upon to regulate the conduct of a potential aggressor and mitigate conflict; that relationship now appears uncertain, if not missing altogether.
Where once the collapsed Soviet Union was prepared to acknowledge the loss of its many dependencies, respect the sovereignty of those now independent states of Eastern Europe, and refrain from challenging their existence. Putin’s war in Ukraine is driving disagreements with Europe to the edge of confrontation. All this at a time when America is struggling to define its relationship with Europe. The new National Security Strategy seems to suggest that it is no longer the natural defender of European independence.
Europe’s sovereignty cannot be secured or sustained without either American support or a European framework for its own defence to preserve its independence with a meaningful peace. The question has to be asked if there is to be a credible way forward. Can Europe’s leaders rise above their petty politics to achieve this most necessary outcome? This can only come about if Europe develops a strong central authority, unlike the present circus in Brussels. In the meantime, Trump’s messaging seems loud and clear: Europe, you’re on your own, make the best of it or be offered up to Russian territorial ambitions.
Russia, absolutist, chauvinistic and insecure, what would it really do if the United States abandons Europe and the concept of international order built on equilibrium and restraint? It may not be that long before this question is answered one way or the other.
