Leading expert in foreign and national security policy, Ambassador Kurt Volker, Former U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations, and President & Founder of Alliance Strategic Advisors, LLC, shed light on ‘The New World Order – View from America’ at ABP Network’s Ideas of India 2025.
Discussing the developments in United States since Donald Trump assumed office, Ambassador Kurt Volker, said, “There’s a feeling of disenfranchisement that Donald Trump has capitalized on to try and bring order back to people who are feeling dislocated. In 2017, when he became President for the first time, it was after two terms of Barrack Obama and George Bush when there was a feeling amongst Americans that they were over-expended. In 2025, after wars have broken out and there’s a perception that American influence has weakened, Trump comes in his second term looking at America first as rebuilding America’s strength that has translated to a very assertive foreign policy. He is also leading a cultural counter revolution by supporting the perception that wokeism has gone too far. He is also acting against to what he believes is a biased deep state by cutting down budgets and size of federal institutions.”
Speaking about the unpredictability of US President, Ambassador Kurt Volker, said, “For Donald Trump, unpredictability is deliberate tactics to create uncertainty and he likes to shock people by saying provocative things to make people react. Another guiding principle for Trump is that US has been doing too much for the world and is being taken advantage of. For him, US is paying and others are benefitting like in the case of defence spending of NATO countries where US is bearing 70% of the cost.”
On US intervention in Russia-Ukraine war, Ambassador Kurt Volker added, “For Trump, to end the war one has to stop Russia which no one was doing. He also wants Ukraine to pay back to United States for the help it offered.”
Commenting on the developing geopolitics in Asia, Ambassador Kurt Volker said, “China is a rising power which comes across as a direct adversary for United States; but India is a rising power that comes across a friendly state with shared values. President Trump personally likes Prime Minister Narendra Modi but that doesn’t stop his transnationalism.”
Earlier in the session, Ambassador Kurt Volker remarked about the impact of technology in the new world order, stating, “Technology is changing geopolitics really quickly. It is levelling the playing field. It is spreading economic wealth and opportunity. Its diminishing the impact of big high tech weapon systems for smaller ones. Its creating a generation of people who are not tied with the legacy of past unlike the previous generations. At the same time, there are people throughout the world who are feeling dislocated by the technology. These people are trying to react against it and they are amplifying differences and grievances of all kind. There are some great powers who are capitalising on the opportunities offered by the affected population for spreading their powers.”
ABP Network’s Ideas of India 2025, centred on the theme ‘Humanity’s Next Frontier,’ will bring together thought leaders and innovators to explore the challenges and opportunities in India’s ascendance in a rapidly changing world. In the face of climate change, geopolitical conflicts, and technological advancements such as AI, the summit delved into India’s role as both an ancient civilisation and a demographic powerhouse in shaping the future. The two-day summit brought together a confluence of ideas from global thought leaders, intellectuals, and change-makers, covering transformative possibilities in science, medicine, social contracts, and global leadership, with experts from diverse fields offering bold visions of a better, more sustainable world for all.
