Open letter to all my American and European friends, acquaintances and interested parties

‘A people that yields to tyrants will lose more than life and property, then the light extinguishes’

(‘Een volk dat voor tirannen zwicht verliest zal meer dan lijf en goed verliezen, dan dooft het licht’)

H.M. van Randwijk, Dutch journalist, poet and resistance hero during World War II  (1909 - 1966)

Since World War II Americans and Europeans living in what we like to call The Free West, are used to a system of open trade, increasing international cooperation and a coherent set of rules we consider international law, also known as the liberal world order. It provided prosperity and relatively peaceful stability. In the postwar decades, the US abolished Jim Crow laws that perpetuated inhumane racial segregation, and Europe rid itself of remaining dictatorships in Spain, Portugal, and Greece. Despite all the downsides of increasing globalization, I consider what the Western world has achieved as progress.

But now look at us. From allies with deep ties based on our historical, cultural, political, and economic backgrounds, we have become opponents. The values ​​we shared no longer seem common values and the liberal world order appears to be collapsing under geopolitical tensions, populism and an American administration that no longer wants to maintain the system because it would not benefit the US. Controversies between the US and Europe have been unfolding for some time, but Trump's re-election has forced a rift. At an unprecedented pace and with far-reaching consequences for the world order. Even the most powerful defense organization in the world, succesfully defending or security for eighty years, is defunct.

What the hell happened?

American voters have elevated Donald Trump to the throne, with a majority of Republicans in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. For his second term this president has assembled a team of yes-men around him, who, under his erratic leadership, are implementing the ultraconservative Project 2025 blueprint. The administration, composed of Secretaries of highly questionable intellectual standing, has, in a single year, dismantled what for decades were considered authoritative international institutions. The World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, USAID; the US is withdrawing. Trump even tries to replace the UN by his own Board of Peace. The Vice-President and the Secretary of War insult their European counterparts with condescending and insulting speeches, and Trump, like a mafia boss, threatens them with trade tariffs and the withdrawal of military aid if the European leaders don't do what he wants them to do. At the same time Trump abandons Ukraine and legitimizes Russian aggression by unfolding his own imperialist plans and carrying out attacks in violation of international law. Trump’s new law is the ‘Donroe’ doctrine, elaborated in the new Security Strategy and limited only by his own morality, as the self-righteous American Commander in Chief puts it. His power politics aims to establish an American sphere of influence in the Western Hemisphere, where large American corporations can operate freely and the needs of the people are irrelevant. It's a course of action that Putin and Xi will likely look at with approval - perhaps explaining their mild reaction to the imprisonment of their ally Maduro.

I didn't expect much good from Trump's second term, but the current situation defies my imagination. I don't consider myself naive, but if someone had told me all this a year ago, I would have replied it wouldn't be that bad, and even if it were, the checks and balances of the American political system would mitigate it. Not so. The Republican representatives, fearful for their jobs, are ignoring their democratic duty and bowing to Trump's unhinged actions, even though they will ultimately be disastrous for America's global standing. The Supreme Court is giving this administration free rein and granting the president virtually unlimited power.

And the more sensible segment of the American population? Those who didn't vote for Trump and abhor his authoritarian, or rather, autocratic, regime? Demonstrating with slogans like "No Kings" and against the killing and unlawful detainment of civilians are important to show the massive condemnation. But is it enough? Or should the people actually resist this government? The United States Constitution, unlike the constitution of, for example, Germany, does not explicitly provide for a right of legitimate resistance against tyranny. The 1776 Declaration of Independence does speak of the people's right to overthrow a destructive government, but that text is not a legally binding document like the Constitution, which focuses precisely on checks and balances between the branches. Articles I and II of the Constitution regulate the legislative and executive branches and their checks and balances on each other, including impeachment for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes." The Supreme Court does not recognize a constitutional right to armed resistance because it would undermine the rule of law. But citizens can, within the law, employ various nonviolent methods to exert pressure on a tyrannical regime, such as civil disobedience and collective action that undermines loyalty. These forms of resistance focus on mass participation and moral suasion without violence. In addition to demonstrations, strikes and work stoppages, which disrupt the economy and bureaucracy, have proven effective methods. Boycotts of products, services, or taxes weaken the regime's financial foundation, while mass occupations and deliberate arrests attract significant public attention. Citizens could even build parallel structures, such as cooperatives, alternative media, and underground networks. Hacking government information or DDoS attacks on systems can expose information to compromise the government.

In extreme cases, however, traditional "rights to resist" become irrelevant in the face of a totalitarian state. Considering everything that has happened in a single year, this year's midterm elections will not proceed without incident, if they are held at all in all states. This tyrannical president will not allow his power to be curtailed. So what? Let the quote from Dutch resistance hero H.M. van Randwijk above this open letter sink in!

And how about Europe?

It's not just the US that's to blame for the US-Europe controversy. American annoyance over the far too limited defense efforts of European countries is entirely justified. European politicians have seriously weakened our continent militarily and geopolitically, naively assuming the US would protect us. Europe is suffering the consequences, being dependent of the US for it's deterrant and therefore vulnerable to blackmail, especially now that aggressor Russia has invaded a neighboring country and fundamentally threatens European security. Europeans are so trapped that they have to accept Trump's trade tariffs, yet they still lick his boots and pander to him. This does little to gain respect and confirms the image that European leaders are weak.

An even greater sign of weakness is Europe's divisions. The EU is struggling to present itself as a united front. National politicians converse with each other from summit to summit, but they lack common strength. The Draghi Report has flawlessly exposed Europe's weaknesses and formulated with absolute clarity what Europe needs to do to make its economy more competitive and strengthen its geopolitical position. There is little evidence that the recommendations are being implemented. The war in Ukraine is forcing Europe to rearm, but teven that is happening far too slowly. European politicians are not showing the leadership to make it clear to their voters what is needed – even if it comes at the expense of generous social and health care. Meanwhile, the political elite of the member states whine about refusing to relinquish national sovereignty at a time when it is abundantly clear that only far-reaching European integration, with a common foreign policy, a true single market, including a capital union, can improve our very weak geopolitical position in the world, necessary to maintain that very soveneignty.

American criticism of European immigration policy provokes strong reactions, but however ideologically biased the arguments may be, it touches on a painful political issue. European migration policy has become a dangerous social bone of contention. Populists exploit it for electoral gain, and their single-issue parties turn against liberal democracies. Immigrants from non-Western countries also appear to have relatively little regard for Western values ​​such as democracy, freedom, and human rights, further straining the sustainability of the democratic constitutional state. It's almost cynical. Trump wants populists in Europe to come to power to curb immigration, and I would like control and streamline migration better to keep populists out of European governments and protect our liberal democracies.

Despite different political and ideological insights and legitimate criticisms, Europe cannot allow itself to be dominated by the US. Along with the much-needed political, social-economic and military reforms, the EU must resist the coercion imposed on the European continent by this American administration. And however severe, it is the only way to safeguard its independence. Europe urgently needs to deploy its economic power and translate it into political counter-pressure. Resolute use of the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), the "bazooka," is the appropriate tool to respond to Trump's threats and unilateral measures. The ACI can impose import duties, enforce investment restrictions, and/or prevent US companies from participating in EU contracts. Furthermore, the EU can block trade agreements with the US and prioritize trade agreements with other countries, impose taxes on US digital services, and pressure US tech giants with additional legislation. Dumping US Treasuries and reducing investments in the US by European pension funds could also hit US stock market listings, although such actions are not without risks and would certainly hit the European economy hard as well, may be even harder. Nonetheless, the majority of the European population is willing to make sacrifices to reduce its dependence on the US through drastic measures, despite growing populism in Europe.

I hope none of my American friends or acquaintances voted for Trump. But for those who did: you are complicit in the January 6th coup, the unlawful actions of ICE, including the murder of fellow citizens, and all other violations of the law. Don't complain when it hits you some day. You brought the misery this administration creates upon yourself. For those who didn't vote for Trump: resist by all possible peaceful means. You don't have to be a hero, I'm not either, but resist as much as you can. I will do so in Europe, hoping we can stop idiots like Nigel Farage, Marine Le Pen and Alice Weidel doing to Europe what Trump does to the US.

Hard times await us all and things between the US and Europe will never be the same again. I just hope it doesn't affect our personal friendships and pleasant encounters.