A-Infos (en) Italy, UCADI #203 - The twilight of US hegemony (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

In the aftermath of 1991, it seemed as if the world had been handed over 
to the absolute and unchallenged dominance of the United States. Today, 
34 years later, we recognize that that hegemony is in decline. New 
global players have emerged on the world stage, while the United States 
is retreating from the Americas. Russia, reborn after the crisis that 
threatened to destroy it, has become a global power again; China, which 
has asserted itself not only economically but also through robust 
rearmament; and India, a power in the making; while in the shadow of the 
BRICS, regional powers such as Brazil, South Africa, and others are 
growing. The world has become multipolar. On July 2, Russian President 
Vladimir Putin signed the new National Security Strategy of the Russian 
Federation, replacing the one launched in 2015.
It redefined national interests, strategic priorities, and the 
perception of threats to the country, indicating Russia's perception of 
the system of international relations. This document guides Russian 
foreign policy by outlining its objectives and priority tools; it 
describes the medium- and long-term guidelines and objectives for the 
country's international action.
Unlike the United States, which adopts a new National Strategy document 
with each new administration, Russia adopts a longer-term strategic plan 
(2009, 2015, 2021). However, it updates its "Foreign Policy Concepts" 
and various "National Security Doctrines," which describe in more detail 
Russia's policy on various dossiers. Last year, when the Basic 
Principles of State Policy of the Russian Federation on Nuclear 
Deterrence were launched, regarding the methods of using nuclear 
weapons, it was clear that a comprehensive strategic vision was needed, 
one that acknowledged the significant changes in international 
relations, including those resulting from the conflict in Ukraine.
The Russian Federation acknowledges the Anglo-Saxon West's attempt to 
dismember the Russian Federation and therefore adopts an extremely broad 
definition of security, encompassing the domestic political sphere, 
cyberspace, the information dimension, the values, history, lifestyle, 
and institutions of the Russian people, integrating economic development 
and health security. Throughout its response, Russia acknowledges the 
profound transformation of the international system, which has now 
assumed a multipolar structure, and therefore proceeds with the 
necessary adjustments.
Once the West's intentions have been considered, Russia intends to 
counter the attempted disintegration of the system of relations with its 
allies by opposing these plans with military and non-military means.
To counter these plans, Russia declares its intention to adopt 
"symmetric and asymmetric" measures to prevent any threat to its 
sovereignty and attacks on its economy aimed at fueling internal 
protests with repercussions on its political stability. Of particular 
concern is "the rehabilitation of fascism and the incitement to 
inter-ethnic and inter-confessional conflicts." In response, Russia 
appeals to its "traditional, cultural, and historical values," which are 
under attack by the United States and its allies, as well as 
international pressure groups, non-governmental organizations, and 
extremist and terrorist organizations. Therefore, they declare all 
cooperation over: competitive relations are now the only form of 
dialogue. For the Russians, the international system lacks "the moral 
authority capable of re-establishing a new global order."
Russia's international response involves strengthening the Shanghai 
Cooperation Organization and the BRICS, developing collaborative 
relations with the rest of the world outside of US influence, 
particularly with India and China, in order to create regional security 
mechanisms in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific. The BRICS aspire to 
establish more balanced relations between the various production areas, 
freeing themselves, albeit cautiously and gradually, from the hegemony 
of the dollar and the rentier positions of the US.

The US Response

The United States' response to this program is contained in the National 
Security Strategy document,[1]developed by the Trump administration but 
largely inspired by Vance, with significant contributions from the 
Heritage Foundation[2], an influential conservative US think tank. It 
actually constitutes the manifesto for the post-Trump era, which will be 
managed by Vance, who is thus a candidate to succeed Trump.
To ensure that America remains the strongest, richest, most powerful, 
and most successful country in the world for decades to come, it needs a 
coherent and focused strategy for how to interact with the world. US 
elites have overestimated America's ability to simultaneously finance a 
massive welfare, regulatory, and administrative state and a massive 
military, diplomatic, intelligence, and foreign aid complex. They have 
placed extremely incorrect and destructive bets on globalism and 
so-called "free trade," which have sapped middle-class incomes and the 
industrial base on which America's economic and military supremacy was 
based. They have allowed allies and partners to offload the cost of 
their defense onto the American people. They have tied American policy 
to a network of international institutions, some driven by avowed 
anti-Americanism and many by a transnationalism that seeks to dissolve 
the sovereignty of individual states.
The questions the document raises are: 1) What should the United States 
want? 2) What are the means at its disposal to achieve it? and 3) How 
can ends and means be linked in a viable national security strategy? The 
purpose of government is to protect the country, its people, its 
territory, its economy, and its way of life from military attack and 
hostile foreign influence, be it espionage, predatory trade practices, 
drug and human trafficking, destructive propaganda and influence 
operations, cultural subversion, or any other threat to the nation. 
Therefore, it is necessary to stem migration flows, have the world's 
most powerful nuclear-armed military, a strong and innovative economy, 
technological leadership, a robust manufacturing base, energy 
self-sufficiency, and, above all, maintain the unparalleled "soft power" 
of the United States, through which we exert a positive influence 
throughout the world that advances our interests. This is done in order 
to promote America's spiritual and cultural health, without which 
long-term security is impossible.
To this end, the United States adopts the Monroe Doctrine extended to 
the Western Hemisphere, maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific and 
open sea routes to ensure the supply of all goods and commodities, 
maintaining leadership in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and 
quantum computing, which drive global progress. All these objectives can 
be achieved by strengthening the economy, reindustrializing the country, 
strengthening its financial structure, leading in all fields, including 
the military, and also requiring allies to respect the interests of the 
United States.
Therefore, "America First" will inspire US foreign policy, pursuing the 
targeted definition of the national interest, peace through strength, 
non-interventionism, flexible realism, the primacy of nations and 
respect for sovereignty, and the balance of power by valuing fairness, 
hard work, competence, and merit.
The President of the United States declares the era of mass migration 
over. Fundamental rights and freedoms are reserved for American 
citizens, and the burden of defense must be shared between the United 
States and its allies. He reorganizes relationships through peace, 
economic security, balanced trade, access to supply chains and critical 
materials, the reindustrialization of the United States and the revival 
of its defense industrial base, its energy dominance, and the 
preservation and enhancement of the dominance of the American financial 
sector. The purpose of national security policy is the protection of 
fundamental national interests: some priorities transcend regional borders.

The "Trump Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine and Relations with Europe

After years of neglect (?), the United States will reaffirm and 
implement the Monroe Doctrine to restore American preeminence in the 
Western Hemisphere and to protect the homeland and our access to key 
geographic areas throughout the region. Competitors from outside our 
hemisphere will be denied the ability to position forces or other 
threatening capabilities, or to possess or control strategically vital 
resources in our hemisphere. This will be achieved by engaging partners 
and expanding to ensure and maintain US primacy.
Accordingly, the economic, fiscal, and monetary measures aimed at 
perpetuating US dominance in the designated area of competence are 
detailed. Particular attention is paid to relations with Africa and 
Asia, which are considered US zones of influence.
On page 25, point C is dedicated to promoting the greatness of Europe, a 
"Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine. This was caused, in Trump's 
view, by the activities of the European Union and other international 
bodies that undermine political freedom and sovereignty, "by the 
migration policies that are transforming the continent by creating 
conflict, by the censorship of free speech and oppression of political 
opposition, by the collapse of birth rates, and by the loss of national 
identity and self-confidence." And here Trump has fun, blaming Europeans 
and their political leaders for the deterioration of relations with 
Russia and the causes of the war in Ukraine, failing to mention that 
they tied Europe to Russia by allowing it to access cheap energy. He 
declares, kindly, that it was the United States that provoked the 
conflict with the aim of severing economic and trade ties rather than 
the United States that restored relations between Russia and Europe, 
which had deteriorated due to the actions of an inefficient and 
incompetent political class. The United States will remedy this by 
acting as a mediator and reaping its due and deserved reward.
This is because "Europe remains strategically and culturally vital to 
the United States. Transatlantic trade remains a cornerstone of the 
global economy and American prosperity. European sectors, from 
manufacturing to technology to energy, remain among the strongest in the 
world. Europe is home to cutting-edge scientific research and 
world-leading cultural institutions. Not only can we not afford to erase 
Europe, but doing so would be counterproductive to the goals this 
strategy seeks to achieve."
To achieve this goal, the United States must maintain relations 
exclusively with those patriotic parties that guarantee a genuine 
connection with the countries they represent, and reiterates that the 
United States is sentimentally tied to Great Britain and Ireland. 
Furthermore, it will be the United States' responsibility to ensure the 
restoration of stability within Europe and strategic stability with 
Russia. To achieve this, NATO must commit to no further expansion while 
simultaneously encouraging Europe to take action to combat its 
mercantilist overcapacity by opening European markets to US goods and 
services, ensuring fair treatment for US workers and businesses, 
ensuring arms purchases, and developing trade relations with the United 
States.

Abandonment of the Middle East

For at least half a century, American foreign policy has prioritized the 
Middle East over all other regions because it was for decades the 
world's most important energy supplier, the main theater of superpower 
competition, and the site of conflicts that threatened to spill over 
into the rest of the world. Today, at least two of these dynamics are no 
longer valid. Energy supplies have become significantly diversified, and 
the United States has returned to being a net energy exporter. 
Superpower competition has given way to a power play between great 
powers. However, "America will always have fundamental interests in 
ensuring that Gulf energy supplies do not fall into the hands of a 
declared enemy, that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, that the Red Sea 
remains navigable, that the region is not an incubator or exporter of 
terror against American interests or the American homeland, and that 
Israel remains secure. We can and must address this threat ideologically 
and militarily."

Finally, the document turns its attention to Africa, noting that "for 
too long, American policy in Africa has focused on the spread of liberal 
ideology. The United States should instead seek to collaborate with 
select countries to ameliorate conflicts, foster mutually beneficial 
trade relationships, and shift from a foreign aid paradigm to an 
investment and growth paradigm that can harness Africa's abundant 
natural resources and latent economic potential." It should establish 
trade agreements with the most prosperous countries to ensure they 
become buyers of US-supplied goods and services.

In conclusion

As is clearly evident from the strategies compared, the US hegemon is 
downsizing and limiting its sphere of power, realizing that it lacks the 
resources and consequently the strength to exercise global hegemony. It 
is therefore restricting its sphere of power to the American continent, 
viewing it as its backyard, where it does not allow us to interfere. He 
views the provinces of the empire, constituted by Europe, as cows to be 
milked until possible and used to exploit their markets and consumer 
potential, forced to primarily purchase American goods and services and 
to invest their savings in the US market to support an increasingly 
shaky dollar. He doesn't mention the European Union even once, a sign of 
his contempt for this institution and its leaders, while declaring his 
intention to establish differentiated relations with each of the states, 
conceived as direct tributaries of the dying empire. He seems to want to 
definitively liquidate the axis of the Anglo-Saxon community alliance, 
effectively dominated by the City of London, by eliminating the policies 
of Great Britain, which believed it could use these instruments to 
perpetuate its now-defunct empire, achieving some success in this direction.
Trump's opening of direct negotiations with Russia is the tangible 
consequence of this policy and certifies England's reduction to a 
disorganized province of the empire to be brought under obedience. It is 
therefore not surprising that much greater attention is being paid to 
Russia, considered a necessary partner in that set of economic and 
political groups that govern the various regions of the world and are 
destined to share territorial supremacy. Europe is not only expelled 
from this chessboard but is not even considered worthy of joining it.

It seems like we are witnessing a re-enactment of the crisis of the 
Roman Empire that led to the division between the Western and Eastern 
empires, where, not coincidentally, the latter transformed into a theocracy.

[1]National Security Strategy of the United States of America, 
https://italiaeilmondo.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-
Strategy-it.pdf.
[2]Founded in 1973 in Washington, D.C., the foundation promotes policies 
based on free-market principles, a limited role for government, military 
buildup, traditional American values, and the strengthening of 
individual freedom. A spearhead of conservatism, it provides policy 
advice to the Trump administration, with projects such as "Project 2025" 
for radical government reform to reduce public spending and inflation, 
strengthen borders, combat the "deep state," promote energy sovereignty, 
and educational freedom, strengthening private and homeschooling.

G. L.

https://www.ucadi.org/2025/12/23/il-tramonto-dellegemonia-degli-stati-uniti/
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