As the United States pursues a new global order based on autocracy and nationalism, Europe finds itself in a precarious position. The transatlantic relationship is being transformed, with coercive action now driving policy changes. Europe’s security dependence on the US is being ruthlessly exploited, while Silicon Valley tech firms’ business interests converge with those of the White House.
The convergence of these forces means that the current US administration will seek to bring about a transatlantic cultural revolution based on nativist values, welcomed by some members of the European far right. This is part of a secondary objective to fragment and destroy EU institutions.
The US government is actively seeking to export this nativist ideology to Europe as part of its new imagined order. The recent US sanctioning of European civil society leaders exemplifies the convergence between Silicon Valley’s interests and the White House’s agenda.
European democracies are facing a pincer attack: externally from the US administration and Silicon Valley companies, and internally from the European far right. As the US turns to singlehandedly changing the world order, the norms and laws that European democracies stand for – democracy, human rights, the rule of law – are coming under further pressure.
Navigating Europe’s role in an order that advances ideas counter to its raison d’être will be complex. Insulating the continent from nativist ideology is impossible, and building up strategic autonomy will take time Europe does not have. Europe needs to urgently deepen and strengthen partnerships with countries that share its values and interests in a rules-based order, to build a viable political and military bulwark against the US’s new order.
