COLUMN: When Two Tyrants Are Alike, the World Trembles

When Washington Undermines Its Own Democratic Institutions

In March 2025, the Trump administration signed an unprecedented executive order: all staff members of Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Martí were placed on administrative leave. Hundreds of journalists were ordered to return their professional equipment, depriving the United States of one of its essential channels for spreading democratic values. Officially, this is a measure to reduce federal spending. In reality, it is a deliberate sabotage of America’s soft power tools. Radio Free Europe, created during the Cold War to circumvent Soviet censorship, had regained a central role since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It documented human rights violations by the Russian military and countered Kremlin propaganda. The Kremlin itself had labeled these radio stations “foreign agents” and banned their operations on Russian soil. Paradoxically, the final blow comes from Washington. Stephen Capus, president of RFE/RL, denounces this decision as “a huge gift to America’s enemies.” Michael Abramowitz, director of Voice of America, laments “the first time VOA has been silenced in 83 years.”

This is a betrayal. There is no other word for it. Trump is betraying the legacy of all those Americans who, for decades, believed in the power of free information and in the strength of truth against lies. He is betraying all those journalists who risk their lives to inform people living under authoritarian regimes. And he is doing so with a cynicism that makes my blood run cold.

Rewriting the Past to Legitimize the Present

Putin manipulates the history of the collapse of the USSR to legitimize his imperialist policies. According to his narrative, the collapse of the Soviet Union was the result of a plot orchestrated by the West—a humiliation that must be avenged. Trump, for his part, is dismantling America’s liberal legacy, calling into question the United States’ role as the leader of the international order. He systematically criticizes the order established by the United States after 1945—that Wilsonian legacy upheld by successive Democratic administrations. Both men are weaponizing historical revisionism, transforming collective memory into a weapon of information warfare. They do not merely rewrite history—they falsify, distort, and manipulate it to serve their immediate political objectives. This battle for control over historical narratives is neither symbolic nor secondary. It shapes future choices and determines how societies perceive their identity and their place in the world.

A falsified memory does not merely distort the past. It poisons the present and jeopardizes the future. When we lie about history, we rob future generations of their ability to understand the world in which they live. It is a crime against collective intelligence, against the very possibility of an informed democratic debate.

The Crossfire of Russian and American Disinformation

Since the beginning of 2026, France has been facing an unprecedented two-pronged disinformation offensive. On one hand, pro-Russian networks continue their manipulation campaigns, such as this fabricated corruption scandal allegedly involving French and Ukrainian officials in the embezzlement of 2 billion euros related to the purchase of Rafale fighter jets. On the other hand, Trump-aligned accounts are spreading lies about France: Macron is said to be responsible for rising drug prices, and it is claimed that only the United Kingdom fought alongside the Americans in Afghanistan (even though 88 French soldiers lost their lives there). All European agencies created to counter hostile foreign digital intrusions—such as Viginum in France—have reached the same alarming conclusion: massive American disinformation is infiltrating every aspect of the public sphere. Both Russia and the United States share a political “preference” for the European far right. Migration issues are being exploited on both sides of the Atlantic.

We are under siege. Under siege by those who were supposed to be our allies, our partners, our friends. Europe finds itself alone, vulnerable, unable to defend itself effectively against this dual information attack. And the worst part is that we have not yet found the means to craft, on our own, a compelling narrative in defense of democratic values.

Purges, Attacks, and Authoritarian Alignments

This ideological transformation is not limited to rhetoric. It is reflected in concrete and brutal measures. Trump is purging the state apparatus, attacking democratic institutions, targeting independent media, and aligning himself with authoritarian regimes. The dismantling of USAID weakens the United States’ capacity to exert democratic influence. By deliberately depriving civil societies in the former Soviet republics and authoritarian regimes of independent information, the Trump administration is carrying out a deliberate withdrawal from the battlefield of information warfare, to the benefit of rival authoritarian powers. Putin, for his part, criminalizes dissent, controls information, and expels foreign media. Their methods differ slightly, but their goals align perfectly: to weaken the structures inherited from the Cold War and to each establish their own civilizational narrative at the expense of the liberal model and multilateral organizations.

I see these institutions falling one by one, like dominoes. Every agency shut down, every media outlet silenced, every civil servant fired represents a victory for authoritarianism. And we watch this spectacle with morbid fascination, unable to intervene, paralyzed by our own weakness.

NATO and the UN in the Crosshairs

Trump is abandoning traditional alliances, promoting a visceral rejection of multilateralism, and championing reactionary nationalism. This second Trump presidency represents a major break with the post-Cold War world order and is creating an ideological schism within the transatlantic community. NATO, a pillar of European security since 1949, is being called into question. Capitals around the world—Moscow, Beijing, Ankara, New Delhi—realize that the very concept of the “West” has been weakened. European institutions are struggling to fill this strategic vacuum. Without a formal alliance or explicit coordination between Trump and Putin, it is through the convergence of their policies that they are contributing to the weakening of the structures inherited from the Cold War. The strong leader, the sovereign nation, the proud civilization—a reinterpretation of “Manifest Destiny” for Trump, a restoration of the “Russian world” for Putin.

NATO is faltering. The UN is powerless. The European Union is finding its footing. We are witnessing the collapse of everything that protected us, of everything that guaranteed our collective security. And we do not know how to rebuild, how to reinvent an international order that can protect us from these two predators.

When Identity Replaces Ideology

Ideological clashes are no longer structured around traditional political oppositions such as capitalism versus communism. They now crystallize around malleable civilizational narratives. Since 2012, Putin has shaped a narrative based on the restoration of the “Russian world,” justifying the annexation of territories and the crushing of internal opposition. Xi Jinping in China emphasizes the millennia-long continuity of Chinese civilization to bolster his authority. Modi in India and Erdogan in Turkey are mobilizing their respective identity-based narratives. Trump, by breaking free from multilateral frameworks and undermining the instruments of liberal influence, is fully part of this dynamic. These narratives are not mere propaganda tools—they are becoming strategic weapons that are redefining the international balance of power. Europe, though fully aware of the danger, has not yet found its own grand narrative capable of rivaling these aggressive identity-based constructs.

We have lost the battle of narratives. While Putin and Trump are building their national mythologies, we Europeans are losing our way amid our contradictions, divisions, and hesitations. We no longer have a story to tell or a vision to offer. We have become spectators of our own decline.

A Model on the Verge of Extinction

The impact of U.S. disengagement is considerable and terrifying. Under Trump II, the United States is ceasing to be the guarantor of multilateralism and the stability of alliances. The liberal democratic model, already weakened, is now under attack from within by the very force that was supposed to defend it. Authoritarian regimes around the world are watching the West’s self-destruction with satisfaction. They understand that they can now act with impunity, that international rules are no longer respected even by those who created them. China is strengthening its influence in Africa and Asia. Russia is continuing its territorial expansion. Turkey is playing both sides. Iran is openly defying the international community. And Europe—divided, weakened, and unable to speak with one voice—stands by helplessly as the world shifts toward a new dark age where might prevails over right.

I sometimes wonder if my children will ever know democracy. If this crazy idea—that the people can govern themselves—will survive this decade. Because what is at stake now is much more than a mere geopolitical crisis. It is the very survival of the democratic project in the face of rising authoritarianism.

Build an Alternative or Disappear

Faced with this dual threat, Europe must act. The Czech government, host country of Radio Free Europe, is officially calling on the European Union to intervene to save this institution, acknowledging the U.S. withdrawal. This is a strong signal: Europe must now take sole responsibility for defending spaces of free information. It is becoming imperative for European democracies to ensure fact-based narratives, to invest heavily in the resilience of civil societies, and to create their own tools for democratic influence. The battle for the duty to remember and control over historical narratives is the arena in which the future of democracies is being played out. Europe must find its own grand narrative—one capable of mobilizing citizens, defending democratic values, and resisting both Russian propaganda and American disinformation. Without this ability to tell a shared story and offer an alternative vision, Europe risks becoming merely a zone of influence contested by major authoritarian powers.

There is still time. Perhaps. But time is running out, and we continue to procrastinate, to divide ourselves, and to lose ourselves in convoluted debates while the world burns around us. Europe must wake up now, before it is too late.

Resist or Surrender

Between Putin and Trump, the resemblance is no longer just a troubling coincidence—it is a strategic convergence that threatens the global democratic order. Two men, two different methods, but the same goal: to destroy the liberal architecture inherited from 1945. Putin manipulates history and criminalizes foreign media. Trump is dismantling America’s liberal legacy and disarming his own media outlets. There is neither a formal alliance nor explicit cooperation, but a pragmatic convergence that jointly weakens the pillars of the West. In an ironic twist of history, the first resistance to these drastic cuts by the Trump administration is being led by Radio Free Europe in U.S. courts. Against this backdrop of triumphant illiberalism, the values championed by the new U.S. administration are creating a historic schism within the former Western bloc. The world as we have known it is disappearing before our very eyes. The question is no longer whether we can prevent this, but whether we will have the courage to build something new to replace it.

This is where we stand. Faced with two tyrants who are more alike than they care to admit, faced with a world sliding toward authoritarianism, faced with our own fears and our own weaknesses. The choice is simple, terribly simple: resist or capitulate. Fight to preserve what can still be saved, or accept living in a world where might makes right and where truth no longer holds any value. I know what I’m choosing. What about you?

Signed, Jacques Provost