Westalgie – nostalgia for the West as it once was – makes Europe childish

European leaders breathed a sigh of relief when US President Donald Trump left the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, in early July. Despite a few less-than-edifying moments, such as when Trump reiterated his desire to annex Greenland and when he ordered, without any logical basis, a halt to all trade with Spain, the meeting concluded without any major disasters. Above all, Trump did not announce any significant troop withdrawals from Europe or any moves to leave the Atlantic Alliance. He even had warm words for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and pledged to grant Ukraine a licence to produce Patriot missiles independently. In the end, Trump himself declared that there was “love” in the air.

Behind the façade, however, the summit was a bizarre affair. NATO leaders patted themselves on the back for their commitment to raise defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP, even though everyone knows that this arbitrary figure means nothing without a more robust deterrent based on actual military capabilities. The figure had been plucked out of thin air last year to appease Trump. In the months leading up to the summit, the leaders themselves feared that Trump might withdraw the United States from the Alliance or drastically reduce its presence in Europe, thereby leaving it at the mercy of Vladimir Putin’s Russia. That is why NATO leaders went to such lengths to prepare a summit that would avoid any unplanned incidents. The fear that the unpredictable American president might use the occasion to undermine the Alliance was palpable. When the time came, European leaders went out of their way to praise Trump, with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte leading this race to flatter him. Some commentators believe that saving NATO and keeping the Western alliance alive is worth a little humiliation. But by kowtowing to Trump and wistfully reminiscing about the good old days of the transatlantic relationship, European leaders risk more than just their dignity.

Consider the period following the fall of the Berlin Wall. After the initial euphoria, many areas of the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) were left deserted, with the population fleeing, whilst property prices were driven up by the influx of wealthier West Germans. The result was a wave of nostalgia for a lost world, expressed in films such as ‘Goodbye, Lenin!’. The term coined to describe this sentiment was ‘Ostalgie’ – nostalgia for the East – and for almost forty years it has shaped German politics and culture. Although many East German authors have criticised this sentimentality for the way it trivialises decades of repression, there are those who regard it as the key to understanding what ails Germany’s eastern regions today: a widespread refusal to admit that the world has changed, a habit of living off others, and a tendency – albeit occasional – to make a fool of oneself, such as when East Germans parrot Russian arguments about Ukraine.

Paradoxically, the problem facing Europe today is not merely that ‘Ostalgie’ has held East Germany back: it is that a new malaise, ‘Westalgie’, has taken hold, and this was clearly evident in Ankara.

Westalgie has several key characteristics. The first is a refusal to acknowledge that the world has moved on. By behaving as though American security guarantees are still as solid as they were during the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and by continuing to purchase US weapons, Europeans hope to turn back the clock. But a better strategy would recognise that America has changed profoundly. Even if a Democrat were to enter the White House in January 2029, the American retreat will continue. Those who wish to turn back the clock naturally view the past through rose-tinted glasses, even though certain elements of the post-Cold War order were by no means advantageous for Europe. In particular, Europe’s excessive dependence on American power has had a clearly infantilising effect. Even when caught between a predatory Russia, a fickle America and a coercive China, Europeans continue to underestimate and downplay their own power and influence.

The second characteristic of Westalgie is the tendency to live off others. Just as East Germans became accustomed to the transfer of resources and subsidies (the infamous Solidaritätszuschlag, or solidarity surcharge) flowing eastwards after reunification, so too have Europeans become accustomed to making America foot the bill for their own security. Consequently, Europeans have underinvested not only in defence, but also in their industrial base, technological sovereignty and energy independence. Instead of complaining that American citizens no longer wish to shoulder the burden of defending Europe, and instead of spending billions of dollars to satisfy Trump’s vanity, Europeans would do better to have a serious conversation about how they might, if necessary, cope with a high-intensity conflict on their own. Instead of allocating an arbitrary proportion of their GDP to defence, they should critically assess their shortcomings in terms of military capabilities and tailor spending to their actual needs. Public finances are tight everywhere, but it will be easier to justify spending on armaments if it appears less geared towards flattering Trump.

Thirdly, Europeans often fail to conceal their subservience to the American president effectively, which prevents them from being taken seriously – whether that president is Trump, Putin or Chinese President Xi Jinping. If there is one man who probably has less respect for Rutte than Rutte has for himself, it is Trump. Europe will only earn the world’s respect when it is able to stand up for itself.

Whilst Ostalgie was a grassroots phenomenon, Westalgie is driven by the elites. Naturally, European politicians must allay the fears of an increasingly anxious electorate. But if they are to succeed in the 21st century, they must stop peddling nostalgia and start looking to the future.

Mark Leonard

Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations. He has just published "Surviving Chaos: Geopolitics When the Rules Fail" (Polity Press, 2026)

Copyright Project Syndicate