Since 1945, the United States assumed leadership in building a liberal international order and after the end of the Cold War, at the same time it organized collective actions to the outcoming challenges. Now that the post–Cold War period is over and after fifteen years of unconcluded wars in the Middle East and Central Asia, wide domestic disillusionment, some of the most polarizing political landscapes and potential leaderships in recent history, America and Europe are divided over their role in this complex world.

The West has enjoyed, to certain extent, a privileged nature in the current international relations system until now, but while the transatlantic cooperation is being discussed, the world has entered a new turbulent and complex era. On one hand, it faces new threats from WMD proliferation in Asia as well as violent jihadist movements like ISIS, al Qaeda, and other radicalized groups, and on the other hand it has to deal with traditional nuclear-armed Russia and China,. Russia has emerged as a revanchist power since Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency in 2012 and China has been modernizing its economic and military mechanisms adopting aggressive postures, particularly in the area previously secured by the post-1945 U.S. A2/AD strategy.

The world poses challenges that U.S. and European policy-makers have not encountered before and for which they are not prepared or eager to face. A coherent combined security strategy at all levels (defense, development, human rights, antiradicalism, etc.) will be difficult to pursue without a greater degree of domestic political consensus in the U.S. and in the European countries and their common multilateral institutions. Unfortunately, domestic political dysfunction and radical populism are the greatest obstacles to an avoidable and response and effective leadership in terms of comprehensive security for the West.