Against the US National Security Strategy – for a Europe of solidarity

By Rui Palma (USC steering committee member)

I’ve just finished reading the new National Security Strategy of the US, released last week… and it is a full-blown colonialist enterprise, that reeks of fascism, with a sprinkle of conspiracy theories here and there.

Every single European citizen, and everyone who cares about human rights, the rights of nations, democracy, international cooperation, should be very concerned.

It’s no coincidence that Russia already welcomed the new American strategy, saying that it aligns well with their vision: a fractured, undemocratic world order, where might is right, and each big regional player forces its will on its own “sphere”. Imperialism at its best.

The strategy is profoundly hostile to Europe (to a united and democratic Europe, that is), and seeks to actively endorse authoritarianism in the continent, and destroy the EU, under the perverse justification of “saving Europe”. Just like Russia, they will be actively undermining us by promoting far-right authoritarian players, unaccountable to anyone but the US/Russia.

The strategy is also extremely hostile to international cooperation and transnational institutions (e.g. the UN), as well as the very concept of the rules-based international order that was established at the end of the Second World War. And while this world order was always very far from perfect, it is still the only framework that gave us the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Charter, the ICJ, the ICC… Things that should be protected, strengthened, made more universal and fairer. Certainly not replaced by a colonialist “multi-polar” order where each “pole” forces its will on its neighbours.

The strategy basically resurrects the Monroe Doctrine, and declares that the US will not only intervene its “Hemisphere” (yes, they write it like that in the document) to protect what they declare to be their interests, but will also seek expansion to key geographies to access raw materials.

The strategy is also a blow to climate action. It reclassifies climate change as an “ideology”, and rejects any action to address it. While this is nothing new from the Trump administration, it is still a blow to global efforts to address the challenges we face with climatic change.

What can we do about it?

We need to keep Europe democratic, first and foremost. Oppose authoritarian post-truth populists. Not only is this fair and desirable, it is also the only way in which we can assert direct control over our institutions and not let them be subverted to malign, unaccountable, foreign interference from authoritarian regimes.

We need to understand that we are on our own. With Russia waging war on one side, and Trump, JD Vance, and the likes, seeking to destroy us from within.

Be in control of our defence. This means, first and foremost, assisting Ukraine with military help, to stop Russian fascists from taking our countries one by one. But it also means developing our own defence capabilities, independently from the US. We are on our own!

Our economic strength relies on our unity. Remember: if Ukraine falls, it will hurt your wallet when Russia will control half of the world’s production of certain food products and will weaponise it against you. Remember: the destruction of integrated European markets will hurt your wallet, whether it is by the break up of Europe, or by Russia invading the Baltics. Our unity is our strength!

We need to have an economic vision that provides for all citizens. No more neoliberal technocratic centrist policies, that are not only uninspiring, but have stopped providing for a big portion of our population, alienating it. We need policies that favour wage growth over wealth concentration. Policies that democratise our economy, reduce the massive social inequalities that we have accumulated, and are fairer to all citizens. An inclusive, fairer economy makes us less prone to vote for authoritarian extremist parties, who will not solve our problems anyway, and will create many more when they are in power.

✊🏼 We stand together! ✊🏾