On Wednesday, May 14 at Impact'25 Congress in Poznań, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, asked about relations between Europe and the United States, said that “the USAs have affairs with other parts of the world, but they are married to us.”
A day later, an American political scientist from Stanford University Francis Fukuyama was also asked if transatlantic relations were actually more complicated. – I'm afraid that the United States will never return to the state before 2016, because about a third of American voters is really furious and supports the far -right position – he said. – Looking at our election system, this means that this group will prevent the United States from returning to the internationalist position they once occupied – he added.
As a reason for such thinking, he pointed out wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which “contributed to the feeling that the United States has no interest in sending the armed forces to those distant theaters, where they did not lead to successful results.” According to the expert, “the insulationist US attitude will last”.
– However, the question is: in such a situation, do you completely abandon your international duties, especially on the economic front, and suddenly declare that every country in the world is your enemy? He wondered.
Francis Fukuyama about Europe. “The only useful thing Donald Trump did”
At the same time, Francis Fukuyama pointed out that Europe should have greater defense skills. – I think that the only useful thing Donald Trump did in his first term is a reliable threat that we will actually reduce our contribution, if you do not make more – Fukuyama said.
The expert noticed that the balance of power in Europe has changed and “Eastern Europe, headed by Poland, now plays a much more important leadership role.” – I think it is a very positive change for all of Europe, because this country is much more exposed to Russia's influence. I think that people in this part of Europe understand the nature of the threat much better – he said.
Francis Fukuyama was also asked if the United States could learn something from Polish experiences. – Of course. People often ask me what to do to resist the anti -democratic wave of populism. And I have only one answer to this: vote – he said.
– Poland has shown that this is not an inevitable wave that will flood everyone. And I think that every country must get a lesson from this, including the United States. In the middle of the term, we will have a referendum on the first two years of Donald Trump's rule. And this will be the first important opportunity to say: good, quite, we don't want such a country – said the American political scientist.
According to Fukuymy, it was in Poland that on June 4, 1989, the fall of communism began. He added that he visited Poland for the first time on a round table. – What I experienced here in Poland in 1989 was the biggest event in my life. It was a transformation of the entire region towards democracy. But younger people grow up in democracy and assume that she will always be – he said.
