No National Security Strategy is foolproof, and the Trump administration’s recently released paper is no exception. But it’s not a complete disaster either. One of the most refreshing aspects of the 2025 National Security Strategy is the elimination—or at least de-emphasis—of the phrase “rules-based international order,” referring to a set of rules, mores, and principles that all nations are purportedly expected to follow. In reality, all states will do what they must in order to strengthen their position and meet an ostensible security interest. This includes the United States, which often preaches about the sanctity of these rules despite being willing to sweep them under the carpet when the opportunity arises.
The bad news is that the strategy itself is often contradictory. Even as it relishes a “predisposition to non-interventionism,” it lambasts Europe’s domestic political processes and appears to endorse a policy of undermining the continent’s mainstream political parties. The document does not explain how this is supposed to assist the Trump administration in accomplishing its legitimate burden-sharing goals within NATO.
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