The Western Narrative of Decline: A Misreading of Power and Purpose
IN FOCUS, 28 Apr 2025
Diran Noubar – TRANSCEND Media Service
25 Apr 2025 – For over two decades, a persistent narrative has circulated in Western media and political circles: the United States has been in a state of inexorable decline since the turn of the millennium. This story often points to the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, economic challenges following the 2008 financial crisis, and the rise of competitors like China and Russia as evidence of America’s diminishing global stature. Yet, this framing is not only overly simplistic but fundamentally misaligned with reality. Far from fading, the U.S. remains a dominant force—economically, militarily, and culturally—and the arrival of Donald Trump as the 47th President has injected a new dynamism into its geopolitical strategy, particularly in reshaping perceptions of Russia and its role in the world.
The notion of U.S. decline since 2000 hinges on a selective reading of events. The wars in the Middle East, while costly, did not cripple America’s military might; they demonstrated its capacity to project power across continents, even if the outcomes were politically messy. Economically, the U.S. weathered the 2008 storm and emerged with a tech-driven economy that continues to lead global innovation—think Silicon Valley, not rust belts. Culturally, American influence through media, language, and soft power remains unrivaled, even as critics decry its excesses. The narrative of decline, then, is less a reflection of material weakness and more a product of Western self-doubt, amplified by a media ecosystem addicted to crisis.
Meanwhile, Russia—often portrayed in this same narrative as a pariah state teetering on isolation—has defied expectations. Far from being a lonely outcast, Russia enjoys robust support from much of the world outside the European Union and the Commonwealth. This reality, coupled with Trump’s pragmatic approach to Moscow, has turned the Western script on its head, revealing a global landscape far more complex than the binary of “us versus them.”
Russia’s Global Standing: Not Isolated, but Embraced
The Western portrayal of Russia as isolated stems from its fallout with the EU, the U.S., and Commonwealth nations like Canada and Australia following the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Sanctions, exclusion from the G8, and NATO’s eastward expansion are cited as proof of Russia’s ostracism. Yet, this view ignores the broader global context. As of 2025, Russia’s diplomatic and economic ties with the majority of the world’s nations—particularly in Asia, Africa, and Latin America—paint a picture of resilience, not retreat.
Take the BRICS alliance (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), which has grown in influence and now includes nations like Iran and Egypt. This bloc represents over 40% of the world’s population and a significant chunk of its GDP, and Russia plays a central role. China, with its voracious appetite for Russian energy, has deepened ties with Moscow, importing record levels of oil and gas despite Western sanctions. India, too, has maintained a neutral-to-friendly stance, boosting trade with Russia to over $60 billion annually by 2025, including purchases of discounted oil and military hardware. In Africa, nations like Algeria, Mali, and South Africa have welcomed Russian investment and security partnerships, often as a counterweight to Western influence.
The Global South, in particular, has largely rejected the Western call to shun Russia. At the United Nations, votes condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine consistently reveal a split: while the EU, U.S., and Commonwealth rally against Moscow, many countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America abstain or vote no, signaling ambivalence or outright support. This isn’t just pragmatism—it’s a rejection of what many see as Western hypocrisy, given historical interventions by the U.S. and its allies in places like Iraq, Libya, and Syria. Russia’s narrative of resisting Western dominance resonates here, and its partnerships reflect a multipolar world where Moscow is a key player, not a pariah.
Trump’s Pivot: Redefining Russia and Putin
Enter Donald Trump, whose return to the White House in January 2025 has accelerated a seismic shift in how Russia and Vladimir Putin are perceived. During his first term, Trump faced accusations of being too cozy with Moscow, yet his second term has crystallized a more transactional approach—one that prioritizes deal-making over ideological crusades. This shift has upended the Western establishment’s hawkish stance, forcing a reckoning with the reality of Russia’s staying power and its battlefield gains in Ukraine.
Trump’s outreach to Putin—marked by multiple phone calls since February 2025—has focused on ending the Ukraine war, a conflict now in its third year. Unlike his predecessor Joe Biden, who poured billions into Kyiv’s resistance, Trump has signaled a willingness to negotiate directly with Moscow, sidelining European allies and even Ukraine itself at times. His rhetoric—“I want this war over, fast”—reflects a pragmatic recognition that Russia, whether the West likes it or not, holds a strong hand. By March 2025, Trump’s threats of secondary tariffs on Russian oil buyers had morphed into a broader dialogue about ceasefire terms, with Putin agreeing to pause attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure—a concession that underscores Russia’s responsiveness to Trump’s leverage.
This approach has sparked outrage in the EU and Commonwealth, where leaders decry it as “appeasement.” But it’s also revealed a truth the Western narrative obscures: Russia is winning in Ukraine. As of April 2025, Moscow controls roughly a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea and much of the Donbas, and its forces have advanced steadily since late 2024. Ukraine’s counteroffensives, like the Kursk incursion, have faltered, and Western aid—once a lifeline—is now in question as Trump pushes Kyiv to cede ground for peace. Putin’s maximalist demands—no NATO for Ukraine, recognition of Russian territorial gains—may not be fully met, but the trajectory favors Moscow.
Trump’s stance isn’t just about Ukraine; it’s a broader recalibration of U.S. policy toward Russia. He’s floated ideas like bringing Russia back into the G7 (making it G8 again) and exploring joint energy projects, signaling a thaw that horrifies NATO hawks but appeals to a war-weary American public. This pivot doesn’t erase Russia’s challenges—its economy is strained, and its military losses are staggering—but it acknowledges Putin’s ability to weather Western pressure and maintain global alliances.
The Bigger Picture: A World Beyond the West
The Western narrative of U.S. decline and Russian isolation is wrong because it’s myopic, viewing the world through a Eurocentric lens that ignores the agency of the Global South and the adaptability of powers like Russia. The U.S. hasn’t faded; it’s evolving, with Trump’s unorthodox leadership steering it toward a less interventionist, more deal-driven role. Russia, far from isolated, commands support from most of the world’s nations outside the EU and Commonwealth, leveraging energy, arms, and anti-Western sentiment to sustain its influence.
In Ukraine, the harsh reality is that Russia and Putin are prevailing—not through blitzkrieg, but through attrition and strategic patience. Trump’s arrival has forced the West to confront this, shifting the conversation from moral absolutes to practical outcomes. Whether people like it or not, the old narrative is crumbling, and a new one—messier, multipolar, and less predictable—is taking its place.
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Diran Noubar, an Italian-Armenian born in France, has lived in 11 countries until he moved to Armenia. He is a world-renowned, critically-acclaimed documentary filmmaker and war reporter. Starting in the early 2000’s in New York City, Diran produced and directed over 20 full-length documentary films. He is also a singer/songwriter and guitarist in his own band and runs a nonprofit charity organization, wearemenia.org.
Tags: BRICS, Putin, Tariffs, Trump, USA, West, World
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 28 Apr 2025.
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