What does Trump's national security strategy mean for Europe, China and Middle East? episode artwork

EPISODE · Dec 8, 2025 · 29 MIN

What does Trump's national security strategy mean for Europe, China and Middle East?

from Independent Thinking · host Chatham House

This is a special edition of Chatham House's Independent Thinking international affairs podcast, recorded at the Doha Forum 2025.  Many of the official and backroom discussions at Qatar's annual gathering of more than 5,000 world leaders, policymakers, dialogue, corporate and humanitarian organizations from 162 countries were dominated by discussions of President Donald Trump's National Security Strategy, which was released on the eve of the forum. At one of the first events in the Doha Forum, Chatham House Director Bronwen Maddox questioned US Ambassador to NATO Mathew Whitaker about it.  The podcast examines the implications for Europe, Asia, the Middle East and US foreign policy generally of the NSS document, which reinforces the Trump administration's 'America First' strategy, and contains stark language about Europe, talking about its 'economic decline' and 'the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure'. It also says: 'The days in which the Middle East dominated American foreign policy in both long-term planning and day-to-day execution are thankfully over.'  Joining host Bronwen Maddox in Doha were: Leslie Vinjamuri, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and Yu Jie, a Senior Research Fellow on China in Chatham House's Asia-Pacific Programme, and Renad Mansour, a Senior Research Fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme.  Produced by Stephen Farrell and John Pollock.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Dec 8, 2025

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

What does Trump's national security strategy mean for Europe, China and Middle East?

0:00 29:06

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Independent Thinking?

This episode is 29 minutes long.

When was this Independent Thinking episode published?

This episode was published on December 8, 2025.

Can I download this Independent Thinking episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!