Are Europeans today experiencing another such rupture? Are we once again witnessing the disappearance of the old order – the only one most of us have ever known? If so, it is an unspeakable loss. The old order guaranteed peace, security and prosperity – first only to Western Europe, and after 1989 to the rest of the European continent (with the exception of the former Yugoslavia). Now this happy time is looking more and more like “Yesterday’s World 2.0″.
It is worth recalling that America’s previous withdrawal from the continent created a fatal opportunity for radical ideologies and hate propaganda. Under Hitler and the Nazis, extreme nationalists who glorified violence and racism, enemies of democracy and ardent supporters of dictatorship decided that their moment had arrived. The Nazis seized power and deliberately started World War II, plunging Europe into the abyss.
What do we have today? Russia has not only launched a conquering and destructive war against Ukraine, but has also begun to test NATO’s willingness to defend its airspace: drones have invaded Poland and Romania, and fighter jets have flown over Estonia. Nevertheless, while U.S. statements of solidarity often sound rather weak since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, it would be a mistake to say that the situation is comparable to a world war.
Rather, Russian President Vladimir Putin sees an opportunity to reshape – with Trump’s willing or unwitting help – the world order in his favor. Europe is the first port of call for his revisionist strategy because it is militarily weak and indecisive, and it can no longer rely entirely on America.
Here in Europe, many are asking what purpose Trump’s policies are supposed to serve. Why is he doing everything he can to weaken the US and the West as a whole? Why is he being so soft on Putin?
Trump may well fear an escalation of the war in Ukraine into a major conflagration, but his approach raises the odds of just such an outcome. His administration’s policy of appeasement of the Kremlin and aggression toward European allies has obviously pushed Putin to get even tougher.
The world-historical success of the transatlantic world relied on the military protection America provided. But thanks to the support of strong alliances (NATO for security, the EU for economics, democracy and law), Western Europe became a kind of protectorate over the four decades of the Cold War. In the process, it lost – or perhaps forgot – its sovereignty.
Europeans lived well and safely in the world of yesterday, but neglected the responsibilities that came with the rise of our prosperity. That all changed with the arrival of Trump, who essentially declared, “That’s it, no more.” The subsequent plunge from a state of cozy comfort into the icy reality of power politics happened so quickly that we didn’t have time to adapt. The whole thing came as a real shock, compounded by the equally sudden return of war to the continent.
But during Trump’s second presidency, another question has become more pressing: What will become of America? While it remains the world’s leading power, this proud, old democracy is clearly in peril. Not a day goes by without news of some other infringement of rights, disregard for procedures or violation of norms. The entire federal government has become a tool to cater to Trump’s personal whims.
The “Land of the Free” is turning into an oligarchic autocracy before our eyes. The endless stream of executive orders from the White House has fundamentally changed America’s place in the world. This country used to represent the promise of freedom, but now it has become the latest and loudest example of the erosion of democracy and growing authoritarianism.
Free speech – once the sacred cow of American democracy – is being discarded, replaced by a regime of lèse-majesté (criminalizing speech against the monarch). There is even serious debate about whether the United States, the birthplace of modern democracy, will have free and fair elections in the future. Let’s not forget that everything that happens in the US always affects all of us. A world without a powerful, democratic America would be fundamentally different and undoubtedly worse.
Like Zweig, I can’t escape the feeling that the sun is setting over us. Something is definitely coming to an end. My attachment to the idea of the transatlantic West and to the image of America as a bastion of freedom, democracy and security was deep and lifelong. But that was the world of yesterday.
Joschka Fischer,
German Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor from 1998 to 2005,
was leader of the German Green Party for almost 20 years.
© Project Syndicate, 2025.
www.project-syndicate.org
