2026 begins with an increasingly autocratic United States rising on the global stage
The Conversation••world
Key Points:
- On January 3, 2026, the U.S. military captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a unilateral operation reflecting President Trump's 2025 National Security Strategy to assert U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, despite lacking congressional or U.N. approval.
- The Trump administration's approach marks a shift from traditional U.S. values of democracy and international law toward unilateral military and economic actions driven by perceived economic interests, undermining decades of peacebuilding and diplomacy.
- Key U.S. foreign policy areas—peace and conflict prevention, democracy and human rights promotion, and international cooperation—have been significantly weakened through dismantling conflict prevention programs, cutting foreign assistance by 75%, and withdrawing from multilateral institutions.
- The administration has disregarded
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