Key Takeaways
- The U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS) represents a significant shift in American foreign policy, prioritizing isolationism and a "America First" approach.
- The NSS views Canada, Mexico, and Central and South American countries as vassal states that exist to serve America’s interests.
- The strategy document outlines a policy of economic domination, with the U.S. seeking to control critical sectors in the Western Hemisphere and push out foreign companies.
- The NSS has been interpreted as a eulogy for the rules-based liberal order that the United States and its democratic allies jointly conceived after the Second World War.
- The strategy has been criticized for its hypocrisy, with the U.S. intending to meddle in the internal affairs of democratic countries in the Western Hemisphere while stopping badgering Arab dictators.
Introduction to the National Security Strategy
The atmosphere that sustains life in U.S. President Donald Trump’s world is a toxic mix of nativism, bullying, and the chaotic rejection of democratic norms. The U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS) is a reflection of this atmosphere, outlining a policy of isolationism and a "America First" approach. The strategy document has been interpreted as a eulogy for the rules-based liberal order that the United States and its democratic allies jointly conceived after the Second World War. The NSS takes the U.S. backward more than 100 years, to when it walked away from the Treaty of Versailles after the First World War, refusing to join the League of Nations and choosing a policy of isolation over one of international cooperation.
The Implications for Canada and the Western Hemisphere
The NSS breaks new ground in its implicit vision of Canada, Mexico, and Central and South American countries as vassal states that exist to serve America’s interests. The document invents what it calls "the Trump corollary to the Monroe Doctrine," a philosophy that says that any foreign investment in strategic sectors in the Western Hemisphere will be treated by the U.S. as a security threat to be dealt with firmly. This vague language leaves it up to the U.S. to decide which "foreign" countries Canada will be able to do business with as it goes about building energy infrastructure, ports, military capacity, and other strategic projects in response to Mr. Trump’s tariffs and threats of annexation.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
While the NSS has been widely criticized, there are some potential benefits to the strategy. For example, the era of liberal democracies lecturing less progressive, authoritarian trading partners over their domestic affairs may be over. The NSS also reinforces the need for Canada and Europe to invest more in defense. However, the strategy document is also hypocritical, with the U.S. intending to meddle in the internal affairs of democratic countries in the Western Hemisphere while stopping badgering Arab dictators. The NSS is an unapologetic call for a coldhearted "America First" foreign policy, with the explicit goal of dominating the Western Hemisphere.
The Attack on Mass Migration and Western Culture
The NSS critiques America’s European allies as being weak for their migration and free speech policies, and it endorses the extremist view that immigrants are corrosive to society. The strategy document makes no mention of the forces that propel people in Latin American countries, or from war-torn places across the planet, to try to make a better life in Europe, Canada, and the United States. Instead, it is a blanket demonization of the world’s most vulnerable people done for political gain. The NSS also calls for "ending the perception, and preventing the reality, of NATO as a perpetually expanding alliance," which has delighted the leaders of right-wing and extremist parties in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and other European countries.
The Response from Canada and Europe
The response from Canada and from Europe must be a show of united strength and a firm rejection of the values espoused by Mr. Trump’s National Security Strategy. America’s hemispheric partners are just that – partners. They cannot allow themselves to be captives to geography and fated to become satellites of a United States that is veering away from democratic values. They do not have to stay silent. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney needs to continue his effort to strengthen Canada through new trade partnerships of his government’s choosing. He also needs to point out to Mr. Trump that Canada is exactly the partner it needs when it comes to the defense of the Arctic, the creation of reliable supply chains in North America, and the battle against the international drug trade.