In his speech on the Munich Safety Convention final week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared the MAGA imaginative and prescient of American overseas coverage — which has been dubbed by some as ‘Make the West Nice Once more’.
At one stage, it marked a transparent shift from the speech that Vice President JD Vance gave final 12 months, when he accused Europe of suppressing freedom of speech and democracy. Rubio, in distinction, performed up the shared historical past and civilisational values between the US and Europe. He painted a future the place the West, below American management, will boldly assert itself because the dominant geopolitical power on the planet. He additionally spoke fondly of the 5 centuries of Western domination proper as much as the Second World Conflict.
What does the imaginative and prescient outlined by Rubio, and the seeming nostalgia for Western empire signify for the World South? Does it mark the beginning of one other section of colonial-style extraction mounted on unilateralism and financial coercion? The place does a center energy like India determine on this scheme of issues?
Visitor: Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu
Host: G. Sampath
Edited and revealed by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian
Take heed to extra In Focus podcasts:
Revealed – February 20, 2026 04:58 pm IST
