The Collapse of the Western Alliance with Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad

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Reassessing Trump’s National Security Strategy: Hegemony, Populism, and Global Consequences

By Dr. Muqtedar Khan

Professor Muqtedar Khan and Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad offered a critical assessment of the Trump administration’s 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS), characterizing the document as conceptually weak and strategically underdeveloped. Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad argued that the NSS reflects a contemporary rearticulation of the Monroe Doctrine—what he described as a “Trump Corollary”—aimed at reaffirming U.S. primacy in the Western Hemisphere.

From this perspective, the strategy prioritizes assertive interventionism in Latin America, political backing for ideologically aligned governments—often on the far right—and an intensified focus on migration control and transnational crime. The NSS also underscores the reduction of extra-regional influence, particularly that of China, in the Americas. Ambassador Ahmad drew attention to the document’s confrontational posture toward Europe, warning that its tone and policy implications risk destabilizing European political systems by encouraging external interference in domestic affairs.

Offshore Balancing and the Revival of Hemispheric Dominance

The discussion situated the NSS within broader debates on offshore balancing, a strategic framework associated with scholars such as John Mearsheimer. This approach envisions uncontested U.S. dominance in the Americas while tolerating the emergence of regional powers elsewhere, including China in East Asia and Russia in Europe. Professor Muqtedar Khan expressed concern that such a framework, when applied to the Middle East, continues to subordinate wider U.S. interests to the security priorities of Israel.

Ambassador Ahmad contextualized these concerns by revisiting earlier U.S. military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, which he described as catastrophically destabilizing and instrumental in generating new forms of extremism. He cautioned that a renewed interventionist posture in Latin America, justified by an updated Monroe Doctrine, could reproduce similar patterns of instability and long-term strategic blowback.

Israel, the Far Right, and Fracturing Political Alignments

The conversation also examined shifting political dynamics surrounding support for Israel in the United States and Europe, particularly in the context of the growing influence of far-right movements. Ambassador Ahmad noted that despite tactical alliances, far-right ideologies have historically been rooted in anti-Semitism, raising questions about the durability of their support for Israel. Professor Khan pointed to emerging critiques from prominent MAGA-aligned figures as indicative of deeper ideological fissures within conservative politics.

Migration, both scholars observed, has become a central axis of political mobilization in Europe, intensifying identity politics and amplifying Islamophobic narratives that increasingly shape far-right agendas across the transatlantic space.

Instrumentalizing Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism

A central theme of the discussion was the strategic deployment of prejudice in contemporary politics. Ambassador Ahmad traced the historical evolution of anti-Semitism, noting that it once encompassed both Jews and Arabs before being reformulated to integrate Jews into a “Judeo-Christian” civilizational identity, while redirecting hostility toward Muslims. In this configuration, Islamophobia has emerged as a socially and politically permissible form of exclusion.

Professor Khan argued that the heightened emphasis on Islamophobia serves, in part, to deflect attention from events in Gaza and the broader Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He observed that Western governments often adopt a selective approach to combating prejudice, forcefully addressing anti-Semitism while exhibiting greater tolerance toward anti-Muslim sentiment. Ambassador Ahmad linked these patterns to post-9/11 narratives that framed Islam and Saudi Arabia as primary sources of extremism, despite earlier U.S.–Saudi Cold War policies that had contributed to radicalization.

Islamophobia, Multicultural Retreat, and Immigration

The discussion highlighted the growing constraints faced by Muslim communities in Western societies, particularly in expressing dissent or criticism related to Gaza. Both speakers noted that Islamophobia increasingly spills over into broader forms of racial and cultural exclusion, affecting other groups, including Indian immigrants. This trend reflects a wider retreat from multiculturalism in Europe and North America, accompanied by rising xenophobia and skepticism toward immigration, even among highly skilled professionals.

Professor Khan and Ambassador Ahmad concluded that these developments have rendered Western societies less welcoming for immigrants from countries such as India, prompting renewed consideration of alternative global destinations.

Populism and the Crisis of Democratic Governance

Expanding the lens further, the conversation addressed the global rise of right-wing populism and its implications for democratic governance. Professor Khan emphasized the continuity of core U.S. foreign policy assumptions across administrations, while Ambassador Ahmad attributed the appeal of populist movements to structural economic and social grievances that remain unaddressed by political elites. In the absence of credible redistributive or inclusive agendas, populist leaders have successfully mobilized support through narratives of cultural threat and scapegoating.

Both agreed that without sustained investments in education, economic opportunity, and social inclusion, populism is likely to remain a persistent feature of global politics.

Concluding Reflections

The discussion concluded by situating these trends within broader global developments, including the emergence of left-wing populist countercurrents, ongoing security crises, and the far-reaching geopolitical consequences of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.