Is the West facing collapse?

The uproar caused by Trump's rapprochement with Russia to end the war in Ukraine has been accompanied by various criticisms of the issue of unity between the United States and Europe.

Trump has ignored the position of the Ukrainian government and Europe in general, entering into direct negotiations with Russia and questioning the structure of the transatlantic relationship after the end of World War II. 

For many years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in Europe and in the West it was thought that in the new system to be created; the Western liberal democracies would unite and have a strong unity against the central government systems that opposed Western policies. However, after Donald Trump came to power in the United States and clearly expressed his positions and the team that supports him, this concept has been invalidated.

The New York Times wrote in its latest report on the matter: It is not yet clear how long US President Donald Trump's move to draw closer to Russia and abandon their long-standing allies will continue. But the West is likely to be torn apart.

The New York Times has highlighted how European countries are grappling with the new era, reporting that the United States has now decided to turn its back on its ally and instead has moved closer to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The New York Times report added that: Europe, which feels isolated, is worried about the huge task ahead of it in rearming itself with weapons, and is surprised by the shift in American ideology. 

Valerie Hayer, head of the European Renewal Group in the European Parliament, said: "The United States was a pillar on which peace was maintained, but it has transformed the existing alliance. Trump is repeating Putin's propaganda. We have entered a new era". Foreign Policy magazine also pointed to the recent move by US President Donald Trump and wrote: The Trump administration has taken a step further by rethinking the Atlantic Alliance; the United States has now become Europe's enemy. 

The American newspaper added: Trump appears to have shifted his stance, now seeing the Russian president as a better long-term option rather than recognizing European countries as America's most important allies. While there have been rumors for years about Trump's desire to get closer to Putin, it now appears that this shared sentiment is guiding US policy. 

The biggest losers from Trump's shift in approach to his allies are European countries that have been under the US security umbrella for 80 years. This is at a time when European governments themselves are facing major challenges within and at EU level to ensure their own security. Nicole Bacharan, a professor of political science at the University of Po in Paris, says: "Regardless of Trump's tactical shift, the biggest risk is to deny that he has abandoned liberal democracy." Trump knows where he is going. The only real position for Europe is one that asks: What military power do we have and how can we consolidate and strengthen this power as quickly as possible?

No country in Europe has been as shaken by the changing American perspective as Germany. The postwar German Republic was created largely with American support. Germany is home to 35,000 American troops and dozens of nuclear weapons.

This comes amid speculation that the US is planning to withdraw its troops from Germany and relocate them to Hungary. All of these developments signal a major strategic shift.