Member-only story
America Alone
Military might can deter, economic weight can influence, but long-term power is built on a reputation of reliability.
When nations know they can depend on the United States, they choose to align with its interests. When they cannot, they look for alternatives. Unprecedented unilateral U.S. actions are rapidly eroding generational trust. Agreements are signed and then discarded. Trade policies shift rapidly. Military alliances are treated like ad hoc arrangements rather than relationships built on shared interest and sacrifice. Both partners and competitors are taking note. In the short term, many countries will continue to engage with the U.S. because they must. In the long term, they are likely to build a world that does not depend on American reliability — and the consequences will be lasting.
A Reputation in Decay
For decades, the United States has forged agreements designed to create global stability. NATO has been the cornerstone of Western security since 1949, yet the U.S. has publicly questioned its own commitments. Ukraine was assured support, in part to reduce nuclear weapon exposure in the 1990s, only to see that support stall at a critical moment. Each reversal reinforces the idea that U.S. commitments are only as durable as the next election cycle — if even that.
