The West is at an inflection point. The rise, fall and transformation of civilisations are often traced to the decisions of their leaders. US President Donald Trump’s policies and rhetoric are accelerating the unravelling of the Western world order, echoing the mistakes of past rulers whose unwise actions led to irreversible decline.
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After World War II, the Western world order was built on globalisation and international law. But as global competition intensifies, the concepts that once enforced Western hegemony are being abandoned. Trump and his advisers are desperately trying to stay ahead of civilisational decline.
Trump’s approach is not an anomaly but an amplification of the Western tendency to pursue self-interest and raw power. His administration has openly discarded the mask of benevolence, embracing policies of xenophobia, isolationism and transactional diplomacy. These actions have eroded trust among allies, weakened international institutions and exposed the West’s moral and strategic vulnerabilities.
Trump’s tariffs, imposed even on America’s closest allies, have undermined the fundamentals of US and Western economic dominance. The safety of US bonds and currency – long considered unassailable – has been called into question, shaking global confidence. The tariffs are expected to stoke inflation and may trigger a recession.
The Trump administration’s verbal attacks on Nato allies have turned the US from the Western world’s greatest asset into its biggest liability. The transatlantic alliance, a cornerstone of Western security, is fraying. Favourable attitudes towards the US have plummeted across Europe. Trump’s denial of facts, embrace of nationalism and undermining of democratic norms have accelerated a loss of faith in the Western project.
History is replete with examples of empires undone by their leaders’ hubris, short-sightedness or divisiveness. Diocletian’s reforms were meant to stabilise the Roman empire but sowed the seeds of future turmoil. Administrative division created burdens and fragmentation, weakening central authority and hastening the empire’s fall. Trump’s policies of stoking internal division and focusing on perceived external threats mirror these fatal errors.