In 1989, the Russian army withdrew from Afghanistan after a ten-year lost struggle with the Mujahedeen. Two years later, in 1991, the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact dissolved. Afghanistan solidified its status as the “graveyard of dynasties”.
Strong ahead 30 years to 2021, the US military withdrew from Afghanistan after a 20-year struggle with the Taliban, the Mujahedeen’s leader. Four years later, in 2025, President Donald Trump placed a weapon under NATO, properly ending the Atlantic alliance.
The similarities between the Cold War nations extend beyond Afghanistan. In the 1980s, the Russian market stagnated, leading to widespread frustration with communism. In answer, President Mikhail Gorbachev launched “perestroika”, a reform of Russian society.
Also, after the Ronald Reagan century, a growing portion of the British electorate grew wary of the system. Injustice increased and the structure seemed rigged by an entrenched decision elite impenetrable to the result of votes. In 2016, Trump was elected to “drain the swamp”, promising a major reform of the British system.
Dismantling philosophy
Perestroika, first proposed by Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev in 1979, aimed to modernize the sluggish Russian system. In the 1980s, Russian citizens generally faced breadlines and bare store shelves, eroding trust in socialism.
The Soviet government provided housing, education, transportation and free medical care, but military spending consumed 12 % –17 % of the national budget, draining resources from consumer goods and needs. However, the destruction of entrepreneurs made bourgeois life dull and uninspired.
Brezhnev’s leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, introduced “glasnost”, or “openness”, alongside perestroika. But, rooted officials resisted changes, fearing loss of power and the strengthening of the Russian position.
Gorbachev’s effort to blend socialism with minimal business reform backfired, creating distress, offer shortages, inflation and worsening living standards. His son, Boris Yeltsin, under the guidance of liberal National economists, immediately transitioned Russia from northern preparing to complete market liberalization. The effects were devastating: the economy shrank by 50 % in the 1990s, pushing millions into poverty.
The rushed deregulation of state property led to a fire purchase of business to well-connected officials, who next funneled their billion worldwide. The looting of national prosperity simply ceased after Vladimir Putin took power, reversing liberal abuses and implementing” Russia First” laws that spurred financial recovery.
Three years after Russia started its transformation, Donald Trump was elected on the promise of upending Washington’s bureaucracy—the” pond” that many citizens believed controlled the country despite of whom held company. Since the 1980s, frustration with the US social system had grown, with polls showing that over 60 % of Americans felt the land was on the wrong track.
Liberal policies introduced under Reagan led to unchallenged globalization and the suburbanization of crucial American industries. While the USSR marginalized businesses and increased workers, the US did the opposite: money concentrated at the top, and pay stagnated. By the 2000s, millions of American workers needed two jobs to make ends meet, while CEOs earned over 300 times more than the average worker.
Despite being a billionaire with global business interests, Trump resonated with working-class frustration. Re-elected in 2024, he has since escalated his earlier war on entrenched bureaucrats, slashing government jobs, restructuring departments and initiating an unprecedented cost-cutting campaign.
On foreign policy, Trump has made waves by shifting America’s stance on Ukraine. While he sent military aid to Ukraine during his first term, he has come to agree with Putin’s view that prolonging the war is futile and should not have erupted in the first place.
Massive debt
As the world transitions to a multipolar order, Trump must navigate numerous domestic challenges. Chief among them is America’s$ 36 trillion national debt.
For four decades, US government spending increased exponentially. In 2025, interest payments on the debt will exceed$ 1 trillion—more than the defense budget. The debt-to-GDP ratio stands at 120 %, far above sustainable levels.
Trump faces difficult choices. Reducing the debt requires slashing military and social spending. Taxing the ultra-rich would only marginally offset the debt. Failing to reduce the debt would result in hyperinflation, devastating not only the poor but also the middle class. His handling of the national debt may ultimately define his legacy.
Pragmatic presidents
Trump and Putin, both successors to neoliberal globalists, now find themselves as key players in shaping a new multipolar world. Globalism will not end, but the ideological battle of the 20th century—capitalism vs.communism, left vs right, conservatism vs progressivism—is giving way to pragmatism and national self-interest.
China recognized this shift early, with Deng Xiaoping’s 1980s reforms blending central planning with market liberalization. Entrepreneurs thrived within government-set boundaries and strategies that aimed at long-term common prosperity.
Trump recognizes the Chinese advantage. The biannual election cycle in the US prevents long-term planning. Asked about a drop in the stock market recently, he told an interviewer:” What I have to do is build a strong country. You can’t really watch the stock market. If you look at China, they have a 100-year perspective. We have ]a perspective of ] a quarter”.
The US rightly prides itself on democracy, its Constitution and personal freedoms. However, if Trump’s version of perestroika fails to bring systemic political reform, his efforts will bring mostly pain and very little long-term gain.