STRIKE THE TRUTH

The United States’ 2025 National Security Strategy was published on December 4th. It sets out the priorities of the U.S. government for the upcoming administration, its main goals, strategic direction, and expectations for global partners, as well as how it intends to position itself on the world stage. It is a critical document that U.S. allies look to in order to understand how to navigate their relationships with an increasingly unpredictable Trump administration. Unfortunately, despite its significance, this 30 page document falls short. It presents a deeply insular “America First” approach, combined with the assertion that the United States can intervene anywhere it deems necessary in the name of “protecting the interests of the American people.” In practical terms, this means asserting authority over other nations’ governments, laws, and internal affairs whenever Washington labels something a threat. In this blog post, I will break down the strategy, focusing especially on what ...

For decades, American diplomacy has traditionally followed a structured and institutional approach shaped by the State Department, multilateral cooperation, and standardized policy frameworks. The current U.S. strategy in mediating the Ukraine–Russia peace process, however, looks extremely different. Rather than following classical diplomatic norms, Washington is now approaching the conflict as though it were a business negotiation. This is most evident in the strong involvement of Steve Witkoff, the US envoy with a background in real estate, investment, and deal-making. Their methods reflect the growing influence of American business culture on global conflict resolution, due to Trump's own background in this area. The result is an approach that treats the war not only as a geopolitical crisis but also as a complex transaction in which leverage, incentives, and practical outcomes matter more than ideological alignment. In this blog post, let's analyze how this approach will be...