By Mark Longyen
In recent months, growing unease has gripped the international community as
global leaders, analysts and diplomats warn that the world may be edging toward
one of its most dangerous moments since the end of the Second World War.
This anxiety was laid bare at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland, where Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, delivered a blunt
assessment of the evolving global order.
Speaking without equivocation, Carney warned that the foreign policy posture of
U.S. President Donald Trump now posed a direct threat to global peace,
international security and the post-war rules-based system.
According to Carney, the recent U.S. invasion of Venezuela, threats to annex
Greenland and the aggressive deployment of trade tariffs all point to a troubling
return to a doctrine of coercion.
“Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.
“The global rules-based order is collapsing, or may already have collapsed, under
the weight of unilateral actions,” Carney said.
In a similar vein, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the world was
drifting toward lawlessness, where brute force increasingly overrides diplomacy.
“We are witnessing a shift toward a world without rules, where international law is
trampled underfoot.
“The only law that seems to matter now is that of the strongest, with imperial
ambitions resurfacing,” Macron said.
Trump himself appeared to signal this posture during his second-term inauguration
on Jan. 20, 2025, when he declared to thunderous applause: “Nothing will stand in
our way”.
Since then, analysts have described his foreign policy as defined by brinkmanship
and mercantilism.
Many now characterise it as gunboat diplomacy, marked by the threat or use of
military and economic force to secure strategic and territorial advantage.
As a result, America’s traditional allies, especially in Europe, are reassessing their
dependence on Washington.
Former Deputy Commander of NATO in Europe, Richard Shirreff, warned that the
U.S. is no longer behaving like a reliable partner.
“Under Trump, the United States has shifted from a valued ally to an avaricious
imperial predator,” Shirreff said.
“This weakens NATO and creates dangerous opportunities for Russia”.
Shirreff added that European states are now being forced to confront
uncomfortable questions about security guarantees that once seemed
unquestionable.
Meanwhile, critics point to a series of unilateral actions, including the bombing of
Iranian nuclear facilities, the capture and extradition of Venezuela’s former
President, Nicolas Maduro, and the standoff with Denmark over Greenland, as
developments capable of triggering wider conflicts.
Prof. Greg Grandin of Yale University says Trump’s actions mark a decisive break
from liberal internationalism.
“What we are seeing is the renunciation of liberal internationalism and the
abandonment of a world governed by common laws,” Grandin said.
He warned that Latin America is now precariously positioned between ideological
forces.
“Trump’s dated strategy is putting us on a path to World War III,” he added.
This concern is shared within the U.S. political establishment.
Former Republican Senator and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, Bob Corker, said many lawmakers privately fear the consequences of
Trump’s volatility.
“The vast majority of our caucus understands what we’re dealing with here.
“They understand the volatility and the tremendous amount of work it takes by
people around him just to keep him in the middle of the road, “Corker said.
In Europe, tensions have further intensified over Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to
accept a territorial settlement with Russia, alongside threats to withdraw U.S.
security guarantees from NATO.
Trump reportedly warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that failure to
resolve the conflict on U.S. terms could result in a loss of American support, a
move analysts say resembles a stick-and-carrot strategy rather than diplomacy.
Earlier, Trump had insisted that the U.S. would accept nothing less than full
ownership of Greenland, arguing that it was critical to U.S. security.
“This enormous, unsecured island is actually part of North America, That’s our
territory, and we need it for our missile defence,” Trump said.
Although he later softened his position at Davos, the remarks sparked global
criticism.
Elsewhere, the Middle East remains the most volatile flashpoint.
Trump’s deployment of multiple aircraft carriers around Iran and his stark warning
have raised fears of escalation.
“Iran will be completely wiped off the face of the earth if it threatens the United
States,” Trump warned.
Iran, however, has responded in equally forceful terms.
“Our hands are on the trigger,” Tehran warned, pledging to respond with “all
available means” to any attack.
Israel’s muted contemplation of its so-called Samson Option; a last-resort nuclear
response has further heightened anxieties, while Russia, China and North Korea
have openly declared solidarity with Iran.
Beyond military posturing, Trump’s withdrawal from international treaties and
organisations has weakened global safeguards against nuclear proliferation.
Analyst Zi Enlai warned that such actions are eroding critical guardrails.
“By exiting international organisations and treaties, the U.S. has reduced the
mechanisms that prevent nuclear proliferation,” Enlai said.
“This risks a dangerous nuclear domino effect, particularly in Asia”.
Nowhere is this risk clearer than in U.S.–China relations. Washington’s record-
breaking 11.1 billion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan has drawn sharp rebukes from
Beijing.
“This crosses a red line,” China warned, responding with large-scale military drills
around the island.
Analysts caution that the inclusion of long-range offensive weapons raises the risk
of miscalculation, potentially drawing the world’s two largest nuclear powers into
direct confrontation.
In Africa, Trump’s foreign policy has been equally polarising. While military
actions against terrorist groups in Nigeria and Somalia have been welcomed by
some, critics say his broader Africa strategy lacks vision.
Nigeria’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, was
unsparing in his assessment.
“Trump’s African foreign policy is uninspiring, shocking and depressing.
“Instead of rallying the world for peace, he is audaciously threatening it with a
bouquet of hostile policies,” Akinyemi said.
Analyst Dr Olugbade Omotajo warned of historical parallels.
“When Hitler started, no one gave him a chance until he became a full-fledged
monster.
“The question is whether Trump will end this world, or this world will end Trump,
” Omotajo said.
Observers also accuse Trump of undermining the United Nations by sidelining
multilateral processes, including through the creation of a U.S.-led Gaza Board of
Peace.
As regional bodies such as ECOWAS and the African Union warn of growing
instability, analysts say unilateralism risks deepening geopolitical fragmentation
and pushing fragile states toward alternative power blocs.
In sum, as Trump presses ahead with an assertive foreign policy rarely witnessed in
recent history, the world finds itself navigating an era of profound uncertainty.
Whether these mounting tensions culminate in a catastrophic global conflict or are
eventually tempered by diplomacy remains unclear.
What is certain, observers say, is that the consequences of miscalculation have
never been higher.
NAN
