Isolationism Doesn’t Protect

What would you want to tell the next U.S. president? FP asked nine thinkers from around the world to write a letter with their advice for him or her.

Dear Americans,

You will soon go to the polls to elect your next president. And once again, the rest of the world will be holding its breath. I will be following the vote count with a mix of admiration, expectation, and concern: admiration for your democracy and its ability to reinvent itself even when faced with serious challenges; expectation because the United States is a model that we all want to follow; concern about your temptation to isolationism. In a nutshell, your choice matters to you and your future but also to millions of people around the world, including in Europe. I hope, therefore, you will not mind me humbly providing unsolicited advice.

Your biggest asset is trust: the faith you have in yourselves and your ability to overcome and the confidence that your friends and allies around the world place in you—the dynamism of your economy, your capacity to innovate and develop cutting-edge technologies, the strength of your defense sector, the checks and balances of your democracy, and your support for international cooperation to address collective challenges, from nuclear proliferation to climate change and from poverty eradication to pandemics.

But that trust has been severely dented in recent years. At home, some of you depict a nation in decline, portraying a scared mouse where we see a roaring lion. And these last years have seen a serious erosion in the trust that many around the world have in the United States, too. We have seen unilateralism and economic protectionism and have been confronted with a purely transactional approach from some of you, including in the sacrosanct sector of defense in NATO. We have seen the United States undermining the same multilateral system that it helped build.

It is time you double down on regaining the trust of your friends and allies. They will make you stronger and safer. Investing in developing the European pillar within NATO and cooperating on the defense industry with European nations will not only ensure that Europe takes responsibility for its defense, but it will also strengthen the United States to project its power globally, particularly in the Asia-Pacific. Joining hands in the decarbonization of the trans-Atlantic economy, as opposed to deploying unfair schemes against European companies, will help us all reduce our carbon emissions faster and provide greater benefits to our companies. Helping to craft global rules on digital trade at the World Trade Organization stands to benefit, first and foremost, U.S. tech giants operating worldwide. Taxing and regulating the tech sector as well as building guardrails for artificial intelligence will be more effective if done in concert and will also be fairer. Leading in the United Nations or in international institutions on issues such as financing the green transition in developing countries will help stabilize the economies of many of your friends and neighbors. When they do better, the United States benefits, too. In a world more intertwined than ever before, isolationism doesn’t protect. Disengaging from Ukraine sends a message not just to Russia; China reads it, too. Disengaging from NATO is heard not just in Brussels; it is felt in the Philippines, South Korea, and Japan as well as the Middle East.

And the denting of U.S. democracy is not just an issue in Washington; it resonates across Europe, too. Your biggest weakness is your democracy and open society. I say weakness not because I would wish for an authoritarian America but because openness makes you—as well as us—more susceptible to disinformation and manipulation. As in much of Europe, democracy in the United States faces challenges of election interference, growing polarization, threats against journalists, and the spread of manipulative information. AI has helped magnify this challenge with the exponential capacity to develop lifelike fakes aimed at misleading citizens. The enemy is within, and it is very good at finding like-minded allies across Europe. But foreign interference abounds as well.

It is worth investing in a shield that would protect and preserve democracy for future generations. This will require a combination of measures including bolstering cybersecurity; regulating social media platforms and introducing transparency in algorithms; providing warnings and counterarguments for misinformation before citizens face it; and strengthening U.S. election systems, including election certification processes and protecting the right to vote. Ultimately, it is about empowering each and every citizen to serve as a custodian of democracy. Democratic forces in Europe and in the United States could benefit from joining hands and sharing experiences.

You have in your hands the decision about who will be the next president of the United States. As you prepare to vote, Europeans will start a new political cycle, too, with a recently elected European Parliament voting on the program of work to be led by the European Commission. The uncertainty around us has made us realize that our destiny will be shaped by what we do next. We are determined to protect our democracy, step up our defense, and bolster our prosperity for the benefit of all citizens. We know the task is daunting, and we will have to show strong determination and unity to meet it. I am confident we will. But I also know that we will both be stronger if we trust and respect each other, if we work hand in hand to protect our democracies, and if we can still count on the United States as our ally.

Essay

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