The United States upholds its position of power through a vital yet delicate framework, which supports that international security is enhanced when countries follow established protocols instead of making spontaneous decisions. The core principle, which served as the base of the system, started to receive deliberate destruction during the first months of 2026. The current administration has discarded conventional diplomatic methods because it now uses aggressive foreign policy tactics, which include military interventions in Venezuela and threats to take over Greenland as a sovereign nation. The new direction of American foreign policy breaks away from established national values while making a risky move, which now produces negative results throughout the world, thus creating maximum international distance for the United States since World War II ended.
The central irony of the “America First” doctrine is that it often results in a diminished position for the United States in the global hierarchy of trust. The administration showed its contempt for international law when it chose to ignore United Nations Charter rules and national sovereignty rights during its foreign energy asset protection operations in January 2026. The United States practice of overthrowing foreign governments to protect oil interests and establish order creates an unrestricted authorisation for other nations to follow suit. The United States loses its right to criticise Moscow and Beijing when it chooses to operate independently in its own geographic region. The new system brings about a period which operates under a “law of the jungle” because power replaces legal authority; middle powers must choose between military expansion and nuclear weapon development to defend their national independence. The breakdown of international standards creates a new world where America faces diminished defence of its borders and vital interests, which the United States used to support.
The situation creates problems which extend past optical issues because it produces major economic instability. Foreign policy is a critical engine for economic security, yet this engine is currently stalling. The administration solves trade disputes through “gunboat diplomacy” by using military threats, which has caused long-time allies to doubt their existing alliances. The United States withdrawal from more than 60 international organisations has created a space in global affairs. Multiple nations across the world, including Brussels and Brasilia, have started to move away from using the U.S. dollar because they want to join financial partnerships which provide them with more stable economic conditions and lower market fluctuations. The United States will be excluded from vital diplomatic negotiations because it employs aggressive tactics against its fellow alliance nations. The global economy will experience three major effects, which include market loss, supply chain disruption and a currency value decline that will damage its position as the world’s economic foundation. A superpower which follows an isolationist policy exists in direct conflict with the nature of our interconnected global society.
The current aggressive approach threatens to damage the sensitive system which countries use to exchange intelligence information. The Five Eyes alliance, together with other alliances, has used their mutual respect to stop terrorism and cyber-attacks for the past several decades. A “bully” policy which views allies as enemies will produce a negative impact on the exchange of intelligence between organisations. Nations will stop sharing essential data when they start to doubt how their information will be used for trade negotiations or as a basis for taking actions without their permission. The current administration works to break international alliances, which endangers national security because our system depends on these partnerships to detect worldwide threats.
The United States finds itself in a constitutional crisis because of its current forceful foreign policy strategy. The Founding Fathers specifically assigned Congress—not the President—the authority to declare war, ensuring that the blood and resources of the American populace would not be spent capriciously. The executive branch uses “national security emergencies” and “anti-narcotic operations” to stay out of congressional oversight during these instances. The start of these “forever wars” proved easy to begin, but the process of ending them has proven to be extremely difficult. Throughout history, regime collapse has happened multiple times, while leaders never developed a specific plan to handle the consequences of such events. The American public must fund expensive projects which fail to deliver any useful advantages to ordinary citizens.
The human expenses from military operations extend beyond areas which the government controls through official channels. The actions create refugee emergencies which simultaneously harm vital national operational systems. The United States selects military intervention instead of diplomatic approaches to handle worldwide instability, but this approach treats surface problems without resolving fundamental problems. A policy which views human existence as mere casualties in the fight for regional control violates the fundamental principles which made our nation support the Marshall Plan and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The evaluation of this policy does not mean anyone supports American weakness. The document operates through “principled realism”, which serves as its core operational approach. A person demonstrates their authentic power by guiding others instead of imposing dominance through force. The solution needs international law to be respected and the UN Charter to be upheld because contemporary threats, which include economic pandemics and climate change, need solutions that go beyond using naval blockades and drone strikes. A leader who wants to create change should unite people from all areas to battle common problems instead of forcing them to follow orders.
The “bully” method produces short-term power advantages together with positive media coverage, yet it results in lasting damage to national stability and economic deterioration. The United States will lose its position as global leader because it fails to recognise nations as members of a worldwide community instead of treating them as targets for attack. The “American Century” will reach its conclusion because America will abandon its core values, which established its position as a world leader. It is time for the public and Congress to demand a foreign policy that is as wise as it is formidable. The world will continue its progress without our intervention when we neglect to lead others.
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Simon Hutagalung
Simon Hutagalung is a retired Indonesian Foreign Ministry diplomat and received his Master’s degree in Political Science and Comparative Politics from the City University of New York. He writes opinion pieces for Europeantimes and all opinions expressed in his article are his own.
