The Wall Street Journal: Is the West’s Alliance Over?
Since the end of World War II, the Western alliance between the United States and Europe has been one of the main pillars of the international order.
This alliance was built on a shared belief in democracy and freedom, contributed to the major wars, defeated communism, and led an unprecedented wave of global economic prosperity.
But this historic alliance is now increasingly in doubt, and it had reached the point of collapse.
Europe must now negotiate an entirely new deal with the United States based on trade and deals and what the United States can materially gain from Europe.
The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s statement during a meeting with business leaders in Berlin, said that “what we used to call the West no longer exists,” adding that the Americans are busy achieving their priorities and that Europe should do the same.
Tensions between the two sides have increased after the latest version of the US National Security Strategy, in which Washington criticized the European Union and accused its leaders of failure, citing immigration policies as a threat to European identity.
Many in Europe have called the document a “divorce paper,” according to the WSJ, and as “a declaration of political war on the EU”.
The Wall Street Journal outlined the reasons for this apparent abrupt shift, pointing to two major shifts in the US view of Europe and the world.
The first factor is the decline in Europe’s economic, military, and demographic weight compared to Asia, which has prompted successive US administrations, since the era of former US President Barack Obama, to shift their strategic focus towards China.
The second shift is the US President Donald Trump’s administration’s contempt for multilateral institutions, as the US leadership sees the bases of these organizations as an obstacle to achieving US interests.
Laurel Rapp, a researcher in charge of the North America portfolio at Chatham House, told the WSJ that the previous relationship of “democracy and human rights” is dying.
She explained that Europe must now negotiate an entirely new agreement with the United States based on “trade and deals”.
Aside from the current administration’s direction, the Wall Street Journal noted that much of the current tension stems from a fundamental disagreement over the definition of West and the core values that have underpinned the Western alliance since World War II.
There are Trump administration officials who see Europe as undermining Western civilization through open immigration policies, and they see European elites imposing cultural diversity agendas at the expense of freedom of expression and traditional Western identity.
The concept of the West has undergone profound transformations throughout history, and has been the subject of constant debate and redefinition that has brought it to its current form.
European leaders are responding to these criticisms that democratic values aren’t measured by race or religion, and point out that their countries are now achieving higher results than the United States in democracy indicators.
According to Georgios Varouxakis, author of “The West: A History of an Idea,” the concept of “West” is unstable, has undergone profound transformations throughout history, and has been the subject of constant debate and redefinition that have brought it to its current form.
The accumulated social transformations in the United States and Europe have made it impossible to limit Western identity to an ethnic or religious framework, and he said, “It’s too late to say that the West must be white and Christian”.
The WSJ warned that European capitals are now looking with great concern at Washington’s quest to conclude political understandings with Moscow and pressure Ukraine to accept territorial concessions that affect its territory.
French politician Claude Malhuret told the French Senate: “Today, Europe is at best alone, and at worst it faces two enemies: Russia and Trumpism”.
US hostility to the EU is in practice in Moscow’s favor, which has historically sought to alienate Washington from Europe and dismantle its political unity
These statements, according to the WSJ, support the question that is being asked in European capitals: Will the United States abide by Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and defend the Baltic states if they are subjected to Russian aggression?
The report quoted a British official’s answer, made at a dinner with a former US diplomat, that he was no longer fully confident that the answer is yes, and that Europe should prepare to defend itself.
Still, the Wall Street Journal asserts that the Western alliance still has supporters within the United States.
Observers say a change in US leadership could ease tensions, even if political priorities are no longer the same as in previous decades.
But some, like the historian Ash, argue that Europe’s confidence that the United States is always on our side cannot be restored.
The WSJ concluded the report by saying that US hostility to the European Union is in practice in Moscow’s interest, which has historically sought to alienate Washington from Europe and dismantle its political unity.
