“America First” And The Great Upheaval In International Relations

Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières ✏Written by Gilbert Achcar.

According to Trump and his acolytes, America has spent huge sums of money protecting its allies, especially the rich countries among them. It is time for them to pay off the debt. The historical truth, however, is very different from this simplistic portrayal of things.

The “America First” logic, adopted by the US neofascist movement known as MAGA, may seem rational to those who are not familiar with the economic history of international relations. According to Trump and his acolytes, America has spent huge sums of money protecting its allies, especially the rich countries among them, i.e. the geopolitical West (Europe and Japan in particular) and the Gulf Arab oil states. It is time for them to pay off the debt: all these countries must foot the bill by escalating their investments in the United States and their purchases from it, especially their purchases of weapons (which is what Trump means by his constant pressure on the Europeans to increase their military spending). All of this naturally falls within the mercantile logic consistent with the nationalist fanaticism that characterizes neofascist ideology (see “The Age of Neofascism and Its Distinctive Features”, 04/02/2025).

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