T
he national security strategy published on December 5 by the White House must be taken seriously. Europeans were shocked to read that they were engaged in "civilizational erasure." Yet the nature of the document, a political manifesto for the MAGA movement, explains its conceptual weakness. It ignores the major geopolitical, climate and technological upheavals that are underway. There is no mention of cyber threats, the ambivalent and abrupt rise of artificial intelligence, or of terrorism. Instead, it focuses on identity obsessions, revealing more about America than about the world as it stands.
This program claims to be common sense and positions itself as the only way to restore national identity, a vulnerable economy and the dignity of those who suffered during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, deindustrialization and the Covid-19 era. It depicts a declining West, seen exclusively through the distorting lens of racial prejudice, Christianity and nationalism. The approach shows an America bullying its allies instead of facing the threats posed by its rivals − above all, China.
Without allies, without credibility and without principles, where is America headed? It is shrinking. The idea of a "reactionary international," to quote Emmanuel Macron, is not a viable long-term alternative, even if a wave of nationalist populism were to sweep across Europe. It is a recipe for Western fragmentation.
