Where is Trump leading the world? – A column by Türkiye’s former PM
With the beginning of Trump’s second term marked by even greater chaos, what once seemed like an isolated shock has evolved into a full-blown "systemic earthquake."
Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric, often unhinged executive orders, and despotic approach to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine have shaken the very foundations of the multilateral system, which took four centuries of wars and suffering – dating back to the Peace of Westphalia – to build.
Read more about the new era the world is entering in a column by Ahmet Davutoğlu, former Turkish Prime Minister and Foreign Minister – A return to the old order: where Donald Trump has led the world.
According to the author, Trump’s actions and pronouncements over the past two months suggest that we are entering an era of profound uncertainty in which crises can erupt and escalate at any moment.
"A single principle now seems to prevail: might is right," writes the former Turkish PM.
He reminds readers that at the heart of international law lies the principle of pacta sunt servanda: treaties must be honored. Yet within weeks of returning to the White House, Trump has violated, invalidated, or withdrawn from numerous agreements and commitments made by previous US administrations, including his own.
According to Davutoğlu, Trump’s broader foreign-policy objective appears to be to dismantle the global order established 80 years ago by a generation scarred by the horrors of World War II and usher in an era of neo-colonial competition.
"Trump’s America First agenda stands in stark contrast to the "humanity first" principle that underpinned the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, crafted in the aftermath of WWII to prevent a resurgence of fascism. That declaration, and the subsequent creation of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), embodied the spirit of an international order that placed human dignity above geopolitics," writes the columnist.
In his view, Trump’s destructive approach is not only undermining the UN system but also the Pax Americana that has long underpinned global stability.
The postwar US-led order rested on three pillars: US-dominated multilateral institutions, a global security architecture built around alliances like NATO, and an economic order based on free trade and the dollar’s status as the world’s main reserve currency.
"By contrast, Trump’s vision of Pax Americana for the twenty-first century is one of unchecked, tech-driven totalitarianism," the author writes.
He warns that by rejecting this founding ideal, Trump risks transforming the Security Council into an instrument of brute force. If the four remaining permanent members were to adopt similarly nationalist postures, the result would be a dangerous scramble for dominance.
Davutoğlu believes this shift didn’t come out of nowhere. The US-led order has been fraying for years. Since the end of the Cold War, US foreign policy has been marked by strategic discontinuity, with each administration adopting wildly different doctrines. Joe Biden’s inconsistent and largely ineffective foreign policy – particularly in Gaza – helped pave the way for Trump’s return.
"Now, with Trump more emboldened than ever, we are witnessing the consequences of America’s strategic discontinuity: a neo-colonial order driven by Christian nationalism, empowered by advanced technologies, sustained by irrational impulses, and wrapped in brazen rhetoric," the former Turkish official observes.
He recalls that when he gave a lecture at Princeton University in spring 2002, he noted the surge of extreme nationalism in post-9/11 America and warned that the US did not need a Caesar-like leader who seeks domination through military might. Instead, it needed a Marcus Aurelius – a philosopher-statesman capable of leading a complex global order with wisdom, restraint, and respect for international law.
"Will we succumb to authoritarian Caesars who become more oppressive as their power grows, or will we choose leaders who, like Marcus Aurelius, seek to govern deliberatively? That is the defining question of our time, and we must answer it together," concludes the former Prime Minister of Türkiye.
This article originally appeared on Project Syndicate and is republished with permission from the copyright holder.