The United States exercises Might Makes Right
Europe stands paralyzed in a new world order in which the United States is establishing new rules for the West. Protests and resistance from the EU have complicated the relationship and are putting Europe at risk.
January 8, 2026 | INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Image by AI/S&P
Revolt against Trump's new world order
The entire world has been in turmoil since Donald Trump assumed the office of President of the United States for the second time on January 20, 2025. Trump has formed an administration of loyal and risk-willing ministers who share his protectionist view of America and his vision for the Western Hemisphere.
After World War II and the Cold War, which ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, global peace was upheld through international organizations that established a diplomatic framework for coexistence, with the United Nations and the World Trade Organization as the foremost institutions. This framework—rules and laws that member states committed to follow—was based on ethical and legal principles of justice. It was designed to prevent strong nations from unjustly seizing resources, both through trade and through the use of force.
This system functioned relatively well among the three major world powers: China, Russia, and the United States. The European Union seeks to define itself as a world power, but Europe lacks both the natural resources and the military capacity to assert itself as such; therefore, NATO is crucial to the EU.
Through its trade policies, the EU has made itself highly dependent on China—an impasse that gives China power over Europe, as China sanctions raw material deliveries at its own discretion and can cut them off entirely if Russia goes to war against one or more EU countries. It is naïve to believe that China will sit idly by and allow the United States to reclaim global dominance; China is likely to use Russia to achieve its political objectives.
European leaders do not have world power
European leaders preach and pursue policies as if they possess global power. They may succeed in misleading the European population, but not Trump, Putin, or Xi Jinping. As a result, Europe is merely a pawn in the struggle for world power. This has proven extremely difficult for European leaders—who have enjoyed significant diplomatic influence within various international organizations—to accept. They continue their diplomatic efforts and political rhetoric as if nothing has changed, but they fail to gain traction.
The individual protests against the right of the strongest
This is a new era in which the right of the strongest prevails. It lies in human nature that we will protest against and resist the use of force; people want to relate to ethical and legal laws, not raw power. Many experience the situation as a threat to both their identity and their existence. It is hardly a threat to existence, but it is a great threat to the identity of the individual.
Many of Europe's citizens now find themselves in a situation that many other exposed citizens of the world face: that they may lose both individual and collective self-determination to a regime. It is very difficult to deal with the right of the strongest, since democratic existence is based on principles of the right to practise political, philosophical, legal, economic or religious belief systems, read more.
Europe needs realism
What may save Europe now is realism. For many, this realism means acknowledging that Europe does not have the military power to stand alone. European heads of state fail when they give the population the impression that Europe possesses real defensive capability. Protests lead nowhere; instead, they have significantly strained relations between the United States and the EU and may have closed the window for negotiating favorable agreements. The 27 heads of state and the thousands of diplomats that make up the EU cannot outmaneuver the world powers. The reality is that Europe must choose between two sides: the dictatorships of Russia and China on one side, or the authoritarian administration of Donald Trump on the other.
Europe needs leaders who can guide it safely through this period of world history, not leaders who lead it into a war that cannot be won. The longer the EU delays cooperation with the United States, the less democracy and self-determination Europe will retain.
Briefly on the geopolitical situation
Donald Trump seeks to reclaim global dominance from China. Russia is a close ally of China and a threat to Europe, but not on its own to the United States. China achieved global power through trade; to illustrate China’s enormous growth, an animated presentation can be found here.
Despite resistance and protests against U.S. political methods, Donald Trump has made significant progress in strengthening America’s position as a world power over the past year. He has done so by generating tariff revenues, which he has used to invest in natural resources the United States needs to reclaim power from China. Critical minerals and rare earth elements are central, as China holds an almost monopolistic position in these areas. Minerals are essential for technological development and for the production of military weapons and equipment. The United States has secured access to substantial mineral resources through agreements and investments in mining companies around the world.
Through the recent attack on Maduro and Venezuela, Trump has cut Russia off from oil and acquired these oil resources for the United States. Trump views this as security policy, as natural resources and trade power confer global dominance. For the same reason, he believes the United States must have Greenland.
SOURCES
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Might makes right – definitionBritannica
Survival of the fittestStanford University
The Natural Law Tradition in EthicsEssential Scholars
Essential Natural LawImperial War Museum
Berlin WallUNCTAD
World TradeUnited Nations
About the United NationsWorld Trade Organization
About the WTO
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