On the eve of a major European defence conference, a new refrain has woven itself into the conversations of diplomats, strategists, and security scholars: that the familiar architecture of the international order — long anchored by U.S. leadership since World War II — feels as though it’s being struck by a demolition force. In the hushed halls where foreign ministers prepare for tomorrow’s debates, this week’s commentary from European security experts reflects genuine concern that the policies emanating from Washington are not simply shifting the ground beneath them, but shaking the very foundations beneath global cooperation.

In a Munich Security Report 2026 released ahead of the Munich Security Conference, analysts warn that the world has entered a period of what they describe as “wrecking-ball politics”, a phrase capturing the sense that longstanding norms and institutions are being disrupted rather than strengthened. According to the report, “an order that has been built up for more than 80 years is being destroyed,” and the United States — once seen as the principal guardian of that order — is now perceived by some as diminishing its role.

To many European observers, this language goes beyond typical policy critique. The metaphor of a demolition man — someone whose actions dismantle rather than preserve — reflects a broader feeling that world order is no longer stable or predictable. The report cites examples such as tariff impositions on allies, fluctuating support for Ukraine, and a pivot away from traditional rules-based cooperation, all contributing to anxiety about a rules-based global order giving way to one governed by transactional interests and regional power plays.

This framing has not emerged in isolation. European officials and commentators have for months voiced unease about what they see as a growing retrenchment of U.S. commitments, especially in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine and rising geopolitical tensions elsewhere. A significant portion of European publics now view recent American policies as threatening the stability that centuries of diplomacy and collective defence were meant to uphold.

Yet Washington’s response has been defensive rather than conciliatory. U.S. representatives, including the ambassador to NATO, have pushed back against the idea that the international order is collapsing, emphasizing that the Trump administration’s intentions are to encourage partners to take greater responsibility for their own security while still upholding enduring alliances.

For European policymakers, the challenge lies in reconciling these differing perspectives. Many still value the transatlantic alliance and see cooperation with the United States as essential, even as debates intensify about how Europe might strengthen its own strategic autonomy. As one senior analyst put it, the world may be witnessing not just a shift in policy, but a redefinition of partnership, where old assumptions about leadership and burden-sharing are being questioned with increasing urgency.

In this context, the term demolition man resonates not as an insult, but as a reflective metaphor for a moment of global transition — a reminder that when long-standing structures are tested, allies and adversaries alike must reassess not only what they defend, but how they choose to build anew.

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Sources Reuters BBC News The Guardian Financial Times Al Jazeera Munich Security Report / Associated Press (via Reuters)