1 February 2026

Where does Europe go from here?

Mark Leonard

At the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering in Davos this month, the global elite witnessed firsthand what some have called US president Donald Trump’s “neo-royalist” style of government. But the week offered more than an over-the-top spectacle (more Game of Thrones than Versailles). It also revealed deeper, structural changes that will shape political and business leaders’ decision-making for a long time to come.

Although the crisis over Trump’s demand that Denmark hand over Greenland to the United States appears to have been defused for now, the idea of a united West has been dealt a fatal blow. Even if Trump keeps his promise to refrain from using force against a NATO ally, his (and all his advisers’) boorish behaviour in the run-up to Davos and at the conference has raised lasting doubts about America’s reliability, even in the minds of some of the most committed Atlanticists.

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