Ivan Krastev writes:

For the Trump Administration, the question is what role NATO has when America no longer views the European Union as an American project but still wants to retain the Old Continent within its sphere of influence. It is a vision where America seeks to replace the Cold War West, which was described as the “free world” and defined by shared liberal values, with a cultural West rooted in Christianity and whiteness.

For Europeans, the stakes are different but no less urgent. They see NATO as essential to weathering Trump’s assault, and to building their own defense capabilities in an increasingly anarchic world, in which American security guarantees can no longer be taken for granted. Trump can be tempted to believe that if there is no NATO there is no reason for the Russian President Vladimir Putin not to become Washington’s best friend. Europeans can be tempted to believe that increasing defense budgets will be enough to defend Europe in the absence of the United States.

The audacious special operation by the U.S. in Venezuela was a pageant of imperial might. It was a preview of what we may call theatrical imperialism––an emerging phenomenon in which great powers brandish strength as a way to rule without really governing. It is also a sign that Washington’s latest national security strategy should be taken at its word. Understood this way, the Trump Administration’s posture becomes legible: Trump is not interested in destroying NATO but rather in using European anxiety about American abandonment as a cudgel to remake Europe. [Continue reading…]