In the early 1940s, as World War II raged across Europe, the memoirs of Stefan Zweig The World of Yesterday: Memories of a European were published by a German refugee publisher in Stockholm. Zweig, filled with sorrow, describes the "gap in time" that marked the end of old Europe in the whirlwind of two terrible world wars.
Are Europeans today experiencing another such rift? Are we witnessing once again the disappearance of the old order - the only one most of us have ever known? If so, then it is an irreparable loss. The old order guaranteed peace, security and prosperity - initially only for Western Europe, and then, after 1989, for the rest of the continent (except for the former Yugoslavia). That happy era now looks increasingly like Yesterday's World 2.0.
It is worth recalling that the previous American withdrawal from the European continent had opened a fatal space for radical ideologies and hateful propaganda. Under Hitler and the Nazis, extreme nationalists, glorifiers of violence and racism, enemies of democracy, and ardent supporters of dictatorship believed that their moment had come. The Nazis seized power and deliberately provoked World War II, plunging Europe into the abyss.
Where are we today? Russia has not only launched a war of conquest aimed at destroying Ukraine, but has also begun to test NATO's readiness to defend its airspace - with drone incursions into Poland and Romania and fighter jets flying over Estonia. Yet while American statements of solidarity have often sounded rather lukewarm since Donald Trump returned to the White House, it would be wrong to claim that the situation is comparable to a world war.
On the contrary, Russian President Vladimir Putin sees an opportunity to reshape the world order in his favor - with Trump's (willing or unwilling) help. Europe is the first stop of his revisionist strategy, because it is militarily weak, indecisive, and can no longer fully count on America.
Here in Europe, many are wondering what Trump's policies are really about. Why is he trying so hard to weaken the United States and expand the West? Why is he so soft on Putin?
Trump may fear that the war in Ukraine could escalate into a major conflict, but his approach is making that outcome more likely. His policy of appeasement of the Kremlin and simultaneous aggression against European allies is clearly encouraging Putin to push his agenda even harder.
The success of the transatlantic world on a global scale rested on the military guarantees provided by America. But, thanks to the support of powerful alliances (NATO for security, the European Union for economy, democracy and law), Western Europe became a kind of protectorate during the four decades of the Cold War. In doing so, it lost - or perhaps forgot - its sovereignty.
Europeans lived well and safely in yesterday's world, but they neglected the duties that came with growing prosperity. Everything changed when Trump arrived, effectively declaring: "Enough; no more." The subsequent fall from a state of cozy comfort to the icy reality of power and political games happened so quickly that Europeans could not adjust. It all came as a real shock, made worse by the equally sudden return of war to the continent.
But another question has arisen with Trump's return to power: what will become of America? Regardless of the fact that it remains the dominant world power for the time being, this old, proud democracy is clearly in danger. Not a day goes by without news of yet another loss of rights, disregard for procedures, violation of norms. The entire federal government has become an instrument for satisfying Trump's personal whims.
The "Land of the Free" is being transformed before our eyes into an oligarchic autocracy. The endless stream of decrees from the White House has fundamentally changed America's place in the world. The country that once represented the promise of freedom is now the latest and most prominent example of the erosion of democracy and the rise of authoritarianism.
Freedom of expression - once the sacred cow of American democracy - is now being rejected and replaced by a regime lèse-majesté (criminalization of public statements against the monarch). There are even serious debates about whether the USA - the cradle of modern democracy - will have free and fair elections in the future. We must not forget that everything that happens in the USA always affects all of us. The world without a powerful, democratic America would be fundamentally different and undoubtedly worse.
Like Zweig, I cannot shake the feeling that the sun is setting on us. Something is definitely coming to an end. My attachment to the idea of the transatlantic West, and to the image of America as a bastion of freedom, democracy, and security, is deep and lifelong. But that was yesterday's world.
The author was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005; he led the German Green Party for almost 20 years
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2025. (translation: NR)
Bonus video:
