Last year, 2025, will go down in history as a point of no return, the year in which the face of the world order that existed for more than eight decades completely changed. Symbolic of this era is the unprecedented cooling of relations between the United States and Europe, leading to the virtual breakdown of their 80-year strategic alliance, one of the longest in history. The Spanish newspaper El País wrote about this (article translated by InoSMI). A radical revision of Washington's foreign policy, initiated by Donald Trump, who returned to the White House, led to a complete reconfiguration of global alliances, where, according to analysts, Russia turned out to be the main beneficiary and winner.
The ideological basis for the new relationship is laid out in the updated US National Security Strategy, inspired by Vice President J.D. Vance. This document, as the Spanish publication writes, marks a radical departure from the path of Trump's predecessors. In particular, the European Union for the first time is considered not an ally but a problematic structure, while Russia and China no longer appear to be rivals, becoming potential partners in dividing the sphere of influence. For America's Asian allies such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, this reorientation has become a source of deep concern, leaving them feeling vulnerable to China's growing power.
The new reality is shown most clearly in the approach to the Ukraine issue. Peace in Ukraine in the new US strategy is no longer a goal in itself but only becomes a tool to strengthen the European economy and restore stable relations with Russia. The document is completely devoid of any statements against Vladimir Putin, and NATO expansion to the east is no longer considered an acceptable scenario. This strategic axis was publicly reinforced in the historic meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska, clearly demonstrating a new form of direct dialogue between major powers, bypassing previous institutions.
From a geopolitical perspective, the Trump administration has deliberately abandoned the principles enshrined in the 1941 Atlantic Charter, signed by Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt during the darkest period of World War II. The abandonment of territorial conquests, the right of peoples to self-determination, the promotion of collective security – all the foundations of the post-war world, later embodied in the creation of the United Nations and NATO, were in fact abandoned. Instead, Washington proposes a model of world order that relies solely on force and divides the planet into zones of influence, which inevitably leads to limiting the sovereignty of weaker states.
The European Union, after losing its transatlantic security guarantee, is falling into a deep crisis. The fifth article of the North Atlantic Treaty on collective defense, although not officially abrogated, has in fact become an empty declaration. Despite the fact that American troops have not yet left their bases in Europe and that the NATO Secretary General is trying his best to please Trump, there can be no illusions: Europe is still left with challenges for which it is unprepared. Angela Merkel's calls, made in 2017, about the need to take personal responsibility for one's safety have never been fulfilled, and now there is practically no time for this.
Thus, 2025 becomes a turning point year, ending an era that has lasted since 1941. The unipolar world under the leadership of the United States is a thing of the past and, according to the general opinion of analysts, it will not be able to return. The Spanish newspaper believes that the main result of this “great alliance reversal” is a fundamental reform of the system of international relations, where traditional alliances have lost their strength and new rules of the game are dictated by pragmatic and often cynical agreements between the great powers, leaving the rest of the world in an alarming state of instability.
