At Davos, U.S. allies question a fraying world order : NPR

President Trump speaks Wednesday at a reception for business leaders at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Puce Somodevilla/Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

Puce Somodevilla/Getty Images

DAVOS, Switzerland — It was one of the most volatile weeks in recent history for transatlantic relations, marked by a series of disruptive statements from President Trump that destabilized global markets and strained relations with some of America’s closest allies — on issues ranging from Greenland to Gaza.

The diplomatic whiplash was on full display in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, where the annual World Economic Forum took place amid growing uncertainty over America’s role as a global leader among Western democracies. By the time President Trump’s delayed helicopter landed in the Alpine snow, much of the damage — at least diplomatically — had already been done.

In the weeks leading up to the rally, occasional remarks by Trump and White House staff about a possible U.S. military takeover of Greenland resulted in new tariff threats against eight European countries.

The unprecedented presidential rhetoric left allies scrambling to interpret U.S. intentions, while global financial markets reacted nervously and diplomats questioned how sustainable long-standing U.S. commitments had become.

A frank speech from Canada

This unease was then expressed openly by several leaders in Davos. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney argued that the post-World War II economic and security architecture was collapsing such that mid-sized countries, like Canada, were once again exposed.

“Let me be blunt: We are in the middle of a rupture, not a transition,” Carney told delegates in the forum’s main convention hall. “Great powers have begun to use economic integration as a weapon: tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to exploit.”

Carney warned that the rules-based international order that had helped manage great-power rivalry for decades was “fading” and that countries like his could no longer assume that the United States would reliably act as a stabilizing force in the system.

French President Emmanuel Macron struck a similar note, describing the moment as a period of historic political and security uncertainty. “We are coming to a time of instability, of imbalances, both from a security and defense perspective and from an economic perspective,” he told a Davos audience of policymakers and business leaders from around the world.

Macron linked these imbalances to a broader democratic backsliding and a resurgence of geopolitical confrontation, what he called “a slide towards a world without rules, where international law is trampled and the only law that seems to matter is that of the strongest.” It was a characterization that, two years ago, Macron would have aimed at leaders like Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin — but to many in the audience it seemed, this week, to be aimed at President Trump as well.

When the US commander in chief appeared on that same stage the next day, he offered a very different interpretation, arguing that raw military and economic power – rather than verbal reassurance – was the key to maintaining security partnerships.

“We want strong allies, not seriously weakened. We want Europe to be strong,” Trump said, while invoking his own Scottish and German ancestry. “Ultimately, these are national security issues, and perhaps no current issue makes the situation clearer than what is currently happening in Greenland.”

In the same speech, Trump seemed to definitively rule out a US invasion of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark. But it continues to question Denmark’s management of the strategically important Arctic territory. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte moved quickly to defuse tensions in a meeting that followed, leaving Trump to declare on social media that a deal on Arctic security — with almost no public details — had been reached. Trump also said he had backed away from new tariffs he planned to impose on goods from European countries.

Danish political leaders later said Rutte was not speaking on their behalf, only increasing the type of diplomatic ambiguity that has dogged perceptions of the U.S. administration, particularly in Europe.

Trump later announced on social media that he was revoking the invitation to Canada to join his Peace Council to work to stabilize the post-war Gaza Strip and potentially other conflicts, a move Trump touted in Davos.

Zelensky calls on Europe to do more

Nonetheless, this entire episode had already increased concerns within the NATO alliance about U.S. predictability and confidence. For Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the concerns underscore a frustration he has expressed repeatedly since Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly four years ago.

“Europe likes to discuss the future, but avoids taking action today, actions that define the kind of future we will have,” Zelensky said in his own speech after arriving in Switzerland on Thursday. “That’s the problem.”

For the Ukrainian leader, it is not only a question of strategy, but also of credibility, at a time when American political attention seems increasingly distracted and when European governments remain at times wary of the exercise of hard power.

The week in Davos began with strong market reactions and diplomatic shocks, and ended without a clear solution. What persists is a question increasingly voiced by U.S. allies, both publicly and privately: Are the disruptions of recent days temporary turbulence — or evidence of a more permanent shift in global leadership that they must now prepare to handle largely on their own.