The unipolar moment is over. In its 250th year, the United States must establish a more workable balance between stability and flexibility to safeguard its global position.
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is up for review in 2026. In its pursuit of a strong economy, the United States would be smart to renew its trade partnership with its North American neighbors.
New technologies are radically altering the way we live. US leaders will need a new understanding of safety and security to preserve America’s global position.
Experts share how changes in American leadership, alliances, and global engagement shaped the nation’s first 250 years—and what the current moment reveals about the next.
"In the 20th century, nationalism was the driving force behind the two world wars that destroyed Europe," Distinguished Fellow Richard Longworth writes. "Now Trump wants to return it to its prewar domination of European politics."
The Trump administration rejects the post-Cold War international order and sets out a new vision in its National Security Strategy. At the Doha Forum, world leaders reckoned with its impact on long-standing alliances and its implications for war and peace.
"The National Security Strategy would suggest [Trump's] not about to come to the primary defense of Ukraine, that he thinks this is clearly Europe's role and Ukraine's role, and there needs to be compromise," Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri says.
"US allies have no choice but to shift their long-term strategies to reduce their dependence on Washington," Nonresident Senior Fellow Paul Poast and Robert E. Kelly write.
