Central-Eastern Europe will compete for US favour

Subject

Trump’s effect on US-European relations.

Significance

Staff turnover and fragmented decision-making at the highest level in the White House and State Department are leaving mounting problems in Central-Eastern Europe (CEE) to the Defense Department and NATO. Along the Eastern frontier, concerns over Russian aggression have led to competition for more US attention from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

Impacts

• Acceptance of the ‘America First’ doctrine will indirectly authorise nationalist politics in Europe.
• Trump’s admiration for their methods will empower East European ‘strongmen’.
• Turkey will further distance itself from core principles of NATO collaboration.