The security of Europe is extremely at risk because the United States is no longer a reliable ally. Security expert Ralf Fücks explains how explosive the situation is.
The worst fears have occurred: Donald Trump implemented his slogan “America First” regardless of losses and snubs the European allies. How dangerous is the situation? Does Trump celebrate a mistake in his advertising for Russian President Vladimir Putin? And have Germany and Europe recognized the seriousness of the situation? Ralf Fücks, security expert and Greens-People, answered these questions.
T-online: Mr. Fücks, are the United States lost to the West?
Ralf Fücks: We have to fear that as long as Donald Trump is in power. Nobody can know what comes afterwards. We now live in a wrong world: die-hard anti-Americans, especially those from all, are now fans of Trump and Elon Musk. But those who have occurred out of conviction and passion for the transatlantic alliance now come to the bitter conclusion that Europe has to become independent of the United States.
The faster, the better?
Time works against us. We have to be on our own feet as soon as possible, we must no longer be technologically dependent on the United States. That makes us vulnerable. Now the hour of truth has come for Europe, in which it decides whether we play an independent role in the world or become a game ball between the USA, China and Russia. The litmus test for this is Ukraine. It will decide there.
Trump drives a risky economic and foreign policy course. Could he stumble over it?
We have to hope that Donald Trump is only an ugly interlude. But he was chosen by a narrow majority of the Americans. The United States has now fallen into the hands of an authoritarian, addicted and character -primitive president. He does not take any prospects for previous partners on the outside world, he is not interested in international law, and inwards he attacks the “Checks and Balances” of American democracy. This is a political Supergau. It is to be hoped that American democracy is resilient enough to survive Trump. But that’s not sure.
Ralf FücksBorn in 1951, is the director of the Liberal Modern Modern think tank in Berlin. Previously, he was a senator in Bremen and for 21 years board of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, which is close to the Bündnis 90/Die Grünen party. Fücks is the author of several books and active on the X platform at @fuecks.
We now need an alliance of democracies, not only in Europe, but worldwide. Canada, Australia, Japan, but also Taiwan are part of it, and we should not write off Israel either. In addition, we have to strive for countries in the global south such as India, South Africa or the Philippines. Among them are states that are not flawless democracies, but potential partners. Because they are interested in receiving a regular international order.
What about definitely authoritarian states like Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia is ruled authoritarian, but it is proWest. The Saudis did not throw us the false shoe shoe, that was Vladimir Putin. Europe needs security policy and also economically global alliances to assert itself. The spirit of freedom is not dead, but it is now massively attacked by a concerted action of authoritarian powers, while the USA change pages. What was unthinkable yesterday is now a reality: an American president is doing a common cause with Putin against Ukraine, which defends the values for which the West stands.
Is Trump erratic or do you see a strategy that could be behind his advances? At the moment, assumptions are made whether the United States wants to drive a wedge between Russia and China.
An approximation of America in Russia does not make sense if it goes at the expense of Europe. The fact that the United States could do without Europe is a blatant miscalculation – especially in dealing with China. Europe is still the most important partner in the United States. We are military, economical, technologically closely intertwined. Putin will never risk his alliance with China. He has to expect that a US president will move into the White House again in the future who sees an authoritarian and expansive Russia as a threat. Economically and politically, China is the most important support of the Russian regime. Putin and XI Jinping have a common strategic interest: they want to destroy the liberal world order. If in doubt, a neo-imperial Russia will always choose China.
