Trump’s Reconfiguration of Global Conflict: What It Means for Asia and Europe

Trump’s Reconfiguration of Global Conflict: What It Means for Asia and Europe
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 27, 2025. Carl Court/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Joseph Yizheng Lian
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Commentary

Two months into his second term, President Donald Trump was accused by some politicians in the West of abandoning Washington’s longstanding allies as a result of his stance on the war in Ukraine. But one doesn’t have to look very far back in history to note that a similar act of “unfriending” of continental Europe had occurred, and wasn’t unjustified.

Joseph Yizheng Lian
Joseph Yizheng Lian
Author
Professor Lian was born and raised in Hong Kong. He obtained his B.A. in mathematics from Carleton College and his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Minnesota. Lian has published extensively in academic and professional publications, and among his many books is a travelogue of his round-Taiwan cycling trip.