August 26, 2026
Defend the West: European Civilizational Renewal Agenda
Overview, Purpose, & Scope
Americans have a direct interest in the fate of Europe through a civilizational bond and culture grounded in history, heritage, language, and a shared responsibility to defend Western civilization. As Walter McDougall wrote in his The Mighty Continent: A Candid History of Modern Europe:
The only definition that makes sense is one based not on the characteristics of countries or peoples today, but on their historic roots. Thus did a textbook titled Western Civilization by authors Carlton J.H. Hayes, Marshall Baldwin, and Charles Cole describe the roots of its subject in these words:
The European Civilization consists, first, in the fusing of ancient peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean into a conscious community of settled life, commerce, expansion, and artistic achievement. Second, in the Greco-Roman traditions of language, philosophy, art, law, and political concepts of monarchy, aristocracy, democracy, and dictatorship. Third, in the Judeo-Christian tradition, with its fruitful spirituality and ethical norms for personal and social behavior, and the distinctions it drew between the individual and society, liberty and authority, mercy and justice, and what is Caesar’s and what is God’s. Fourth, in the traditions both of individualism and social responsibility, hence repeated revolt and revolution. Finally, it includes an expansionist tradition born of a missionary zeal, whether religious or political, ever pushing outward, first to Europe’s frontiers, then across the Atlantic, and at last around the whole world.
“In sum,” McDougall continued, “the modern West is whatever sprouted from those ancient roots and bore fruit, whether sweet or bitter.”
Unfortunately, the friendly sentimentality that typically undergirds the transatlantic bond is no longer sufficient, nor even appropriate, to the circumstances of decline in which much of the continent finds itself. The negative trends are not identical across all our allies, with some demonstrating subtler and others more pronounced shifts away from our common values. The marked moral, spiritual, and demographic shifts among our allies are not externally inflicted: It is a path chosen and embraced by many of Europe’s national ruling elite, along with the leadership in the European Union (EU). It is both alarmingly real and substantially more advanced than is commonly understood in American policy circles.
Beneath the surface of stable institutions and enduring cultural prestige, many European nations are experiencing profound deterioration in civic trust, demographics, financial stability, and national identity. Long-standing political, legal, and cultural frameworks that once sustained these nations’ prosperity are increasingly weakened by Leftist ideology and the threat of Islamism. This deterioration is systemic in nature and affects core functions of governance, increasingly making Europe less democratic and less free. Absent robust and deliberate reform, these trends will further erode European nations’ reliability as allies.
For the purposes of this framework, “Europe” refers to the geographic continent and the nation-states historically rooted within it, while also encompassing the distinct civilizational tradition that has developed over centuries. “Western” or “European” values refer to a defined set of political, legal, and moral principles that emerged from the synthesis of classical antiquity and Judeo-Christian moral tradition. These values include the God-given dignity of the individual, the existence of unalienable rights, equality before the law, freedom of speech and conscience, representative self-government, and the rule of law. They constitute the operative foundation of European societies, shaping institutions, cultural norms, and shared understandings of justice and moral responsibility regardless of individual religious belief. The preservation of Europe as a coherent civilizational and political entity, therefore, depends on the continued maintenance and transmission of these values.
Why This Matters for the American Interest
Right now, the most powerful and consequential governments in Western Europe actively oppose the civilizational foundations that made them great; in other words, Europe is against the Europeans. Among the manifestations of this opposition to their civilizational foundations are the erosion of these countries’ defense industrial bases, their appeasement of Islamist platforms, and their open disagreements with the United States on coordination to address geopolitical challenges. As such, the Trump Administration has made it the policy of the U.S. government to “cultivate resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations.”
The 2025 National Security Strategy describes:
“civilizational erasure ... [by] the E.U. and other transnational bodies that undermine political liberty and sovereignty, migration policies that are transforming the continent and creating strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence.”
The need for Europe to remain true to European heritage, as the document states, is crucial for the sustainability of reliable partners in defending trade routes, deterring shared adversaries—Russia, the People’s Republic of China, Iran, and North Korea—and preserving the cultural foundations that once made the Atlantic alliance a force for stability. The 2026 National Defense Strategy, too, clearly states that the America First approach means “America’s alliances and partners have an essential role to play—but not as the dependencies of the last generation.”
Beyond these strategic considerations, Europe’s internal trajectory carries direct implications for the American constitutional order and the everyday liberties of U.S. citizens. When close allies normalize restrictions on speech, expand state authority over political expression, or redefine fundamental rights in ways that depart from long-standing Western traditions, those precedents tend to move along a transatlantic “transmission belt of ideas,” carried through multinational institutions, regulatory frameworks, technology platforms, and elite networks that operate seamlessly between Europe and the United States. The result is a gradual harmonization of norms that can place pressure on American companies, policymakers, and courts to conform to standards that may conflict with First Amendment protections and other core principles. In this way, what may appear as internal European policy choices can, over time, reshape the operating environment for American democracy itself.
At the same time, this transmission belt runs in both directions, creating a reinforcing dynamic between Europe’s trajectory and similar currents within the United States. Policy innovations, legal theories, and cultural shifts developed in one context are often cited, adapted, and amplified in the other, forming a feedback loop that accelerates their adoption. This synergy means that challenges to sovereignty, free expression, and social cohesion are not isolated phenomena but part of a broader transatlantic pattern. If left unaddressed, this pattern risks compounding internal divisions in the United States while weakening the shared foundations that have historically underpinned effective alliance cooperation. Articulating this connection clearly is essential: Safeguarding American interests requires not only managing external threats, but also recognizing and responding to the ways in which allied societies can influence the trajectory of our own.
Under an America First administration, we have both the authority and the obligation to act, not as passive observers of decline, but as stewards of a civilizational inheritance that has long bound our nations together. Changing geopolitical dynamics and new technologies underscore the urgency surrounding European allies’ responsibility to contribute to U.S. efforts to shape an international order that prioritizes the security and prosperity of the American people. By insisting on accountability, sovereignty, and renewal abroad, we protect American workers, families, faith communities, and national security at home. This is because the economic policies, regulatory standards, immigration, and defense capabilities shaped in Europe directly influence American markets, border conditions, and alliance structures, meaning that instability or misalignment abroad inevitably translates into tangible costs and risks for the United States. The U.S. has extraordinary leverage and geopolitical urgency to promote renewal in Europe—and we should act now to realize it.