In the waning days of 2025, the United States unveiled its National Security Strategy (NSS), a document that reads less like a blueprint for global dominance and more like the confessions of a fading hegemon. Penned in the shadow of economic strains, industrial atrophy, and military overstretch, the NSS trumpets “America First” while subtly shifting the burdens of empire onto allies.

The new White House National Security Strategy provides a critical window for understanding America’s view of the roles of major powers and the international order. But Donald Trump’s brash and unpredictable personal characteristics are a wild card that will keep the world in suspense.

Maximum pressure, transactional thinking and an emphasis on spheres of influence all define Donald Trump’s approach to diplomacy and give concrete form to his “America first” ideology. In a world undergoing turbulent change, the impact and destructive effect of this approach demand vigilance.

Donald Trump and his supporters have neglected the historical role of science as the primary productive force behind America’s economic and military hegemony — an oversight that could put the United States at a disadvantage in the new round of global technological competition.

Donald Trump’s tariffs — the cornerstone of his economic agenda — are closely linked to inflation, revenues, spending and the reshoring of manufacturing. They are the key to assessing Trump’s economic impact, but they come with profound uncertainty.

The Trump administration’s emphasis has shifted toward homeland security and the security of the Western Hemisphere. At the same time its deeply contradictory and confused mindset on Taiwan is dangerous and could lead the military astray.

As Trump’s administration barrels forward, what seemed like a potential era of isolation has become a series of interventions that seemingly have come with one single calculation resting on America’s peerless power.

The international community looks to the United States to be a champion of partnership, not to reduce global health to a mere tool of geopolitical competition. The choice Washington makes now will echo for generations.

The United States faces a profound domestic governance crisis compounded by a loss of international credibility. This is undermining policy cohesion and eroding the foundation of America’s long-term strength and global influence.

The second Trump administration has combined aggressive diplomatic engagement with a confrontational trade policy that alienates allies and risks triggering a global recession, despite legitimate concerns about America’s industrial decline. While Trump's trade agenda aims to restructure global commerce to favor U.S. interests, its unilateral execution and failure to build a coalition undermine its effectiveness and may isolate the U.S. rather than restore its manufacturing strength.