One could imagine a concise entry in a geopolitical dictionary: “United States (1944-2025): a global power and leader of the Western bloc, relying on the dollar, an unmatched economy, a peerless military and its influence in the name of liberal values.” These were the terms that defined American greatness for decades, despite episodic crises from the Vietnam War to those in Afghanistan and Iraq. American exceptionalism was never a reality, but simply invoking it served as a political horizon and a rallying banner.
With Donald Trump’s return to power and the major transformation he is driving, as highlighted at the Davos conference, some elements of that definition are still intact. The strength of the dollar, of the US domestic market, of the country’s capacity for innovation and of its military power all remain, despite the rise of China as a major rival. However, America has lost two essential components: its global influence, which was once partly ensured by the dismantled development agency USAID, and, above all, the trust inspired by its word.
The last element is crucial, as trust is a precious currency. Once squandered, it is hard to win back. It is the foundation of cooperation, of any productive diplomatic dialogue and of the exchange of confidential information between intelligence agencies. Trump holds it in contempt. He believes only in the coercive power of tariffs, in the pursuit of fossil fuels and rare minerals and in the intimidating superiority of the US economy and military might. There are no longer any true allies, as these partners are accused of having exploited American goodwill for too long and living at its expense. There are only rivals, and countries are either submissive or defiant.
Western