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Trump’s second coming:
a chance for Europe?

Arbatova N.K.,

Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) RAS, Moscow, Russia, arbatova@imemo.ru

elibrary_id: 261811 | ORCID: 0000-0001-6640-4532 | RESEARCHER_ID: I-1780-2017

Article received: 2025.05.01 15:11. Accepted: 2025.06.03 15:11


DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2025.04.03
EDN: UOCWLO

Rubric: Theme of the issue: USA and Europe – unions, regimes and coalitions in the circumstances of global transformations

For citation:

Arbatova N.K. Trump’s second coming: a chance for Europe? – Polis. Political Studies. 2025. No. 4. https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2025.04.03. EDN: UOCWLO (In Russ.)

This article was prepared with the support of a grant from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation for major scientific projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development No. 075-15-2024-551 “Global and regional centers of power in the emerging world order”.

Abstract

The economic and political program of Donald Trump, during his second term as president of the United States, poses a serious challenge to the established international order, and, above all, the EuroAtlantic partnership, which dates back over 80 years. If during Trump’s first term his slogan “America first!” only caused Europe’s distrust of Washington as the responsible leader of NATO and the world power centre, it has become now led to a very specific offensive policy of the United States “à tous azimuts”. Despite all the differences, both the trade wars and the revision of the foundations of cooperation with Europe announced by the new US administration have a common goal – the dismantling of the rules-based world order. The purpose of this article is to analyze the impact Trump’s new deal has both on the international status quo and the role of the United States in a multipolar world. Particular attention is paid to the reformatting of Washington’s relations with its European allies. In this context, one of the most important issues is whether the return of Donald Trump to the White House opens up new opportunities for the European Union and its member states on the way to strengthening their internal unity in order to address the challenges of strategic autonomy and rethinking the foundations of the Euro-Atlantic partnership.

Keywords

European Union, USA, NATO, China, Russian Federation, trade war, European security, Ukrainian conflict, economic competition, strategic autonomy.

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