Is the U.S. Abandoning Its Role as Global Policeman?
By Dr Mohd Safar Hasim
The release of the National Security Strategy (NSS 2025) on December 4, 2025 has reignited debate: is the United States finally stepping back from its longstanding role as the world’s “global policeman”?
For decades, Washington has intervened in conflicts, projected military power across continents, and claimed responsibility for maintaining global order.
Now, the Trump administration’s latest strategy signals a sharp departure: a retreat from universal commitments, a narrowing of priorities, and a redefinition of what constitutes national security.
From Atlas to Fortress: The Strategic Reorientation
The NSS 2025 frames itself as a “necessary correction” to decades of globalist overreach. America is no longer Atlas, carrying the weight of the world on its shoulders. Instead, it is repositioning as a fortress —sovereign, resilient, and selective in engagement.
Key themes include:
* Sovereignty First: Border security, immigration control, and industrial revival are elevated tothe top tier of national security priorities.
* Economic Tools as Weapons: Tariffs, sanctions, and supply chain surveillance are explicitly described as instruments of security.
* Burden Sharing: Allies are expected to contribute more to their own defence, with U.S. support conditional on reciprocity.
* Deterrence Without Occupation: Military power remains central, but the threshold for intervention is raised. “Forever wars” and nation building are explicitly rejected.
* Institutional Scepticism: Multilateral bodies such as the UN and WTO are portrayed as diluting sovereignty, with Washington preferring bilateral deals and ad hoc coalitions.
Tangible Signs of Change
There are already concrete signs of implementation:
* Military Posture: Over 10,000 U.S. troops, an aircraft carrier, and warships were deployed to the Caribbean in late 2025, not for nation building but to deter cartel operations and pressure Venezuela.
* Tariff Enforcement: India was hit with a 50% tariff, half of it explicitly punitive for buying Russian oil.
* Burden Sharing Achieved: South Korea pledged to raise defence spending to 3.5% of GDP, praised by Washington as meeting Trump’s demand for allies to shoulder more of the load.
* Supply Chain Surveillance: Intelligence agencies have been tasked with monitoring global Msupply chains, particularly semiconductors and rare earths, to reduce dependence on China and Russia.
Implications for ASEAN and Malaysia
For ASEAN, and Malaysia in particular, the NSS 2025 is a double-edged sword.
* China Relations: The strategy reframes China as primarily an economic competitor rather than an existential threat. Yet deterrence in the Taiwan Strait remains a priority. ASEAN states will face pressure to align with U.S. supply chain decoupling while navigating their deep economic ties to China.
* Opportunities for Malaysia: Malaysia’s semiconductor base and green tech potential position it well to attract investment as firms reduce reliance on China. Regulatory reliability and dual market compliance will be critical.
* Maritime Security: The U.S. will continue freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea, but more emphasis will be placed on empowering regional coast guards and joint exercises rather than permanent deployments.
* Digital Standards Competition: Tech standards, data governance, and AI supply chains become battlegrounds. Malaysia must balance interoperability with autonomy to remain competitive.
Actionable view for Malaysia: Lean into regulatory reliability, dual market compliance (U.S./China), and high trust logistics to become a preferred “middle corridor” for rerouted supply chains.
Implications for the Middle East
The Middle East is another test case for whether the U.S. is truly abandoning its global policeman role.
* Israel: Support remains strong, but Washington’s tolerance for escalatory campaigns may hinge more tightly on U.S. interests such as energy stability and great power competition.
*Iran and Proxies: The NSS favours financial pressure, maritime interdiction, and cyber disruption over broad regional war.
* Terrorism and WMDs: The strategy narrows the scope of terrorism designations, using them primarily to enable financial isolation rather than justify largescale interventions.
The result is a more multipolar Middle East, with regional players gaining autonomy and the U.S. acting as a selective balancer rather than constant enforcer.
Signs of Contradiction
Despite these changes, contradictions abound:
* Venezuela Threats: Even as the NSS promises restraint, Trump has threatened land operations in Venezuela.
* Mixed Messaging on China: The NSS softens language on China, yet military deterrence in Taiwan is sharpened.
* Implementation Gaps: Europe resists burden sharing demands, and U.S. courts are reviewing
Trump’s unilateral tariff powers.
* Domestic Optics: Some analysts argue the NSS is as much about domestic messaging —showing Trump is protecting sovereignty — as about consistent foreign policy.
The Sceptical Conclusion
So, is the United States in retreat as global policeman? The answer is nuanced. The NSS 2025 clearly signals a strategic contraction: fewer open-ended wars, more reliance on economic tools, and greater demands on allies. Tangible signs — tariffs, deployments, burden sharing — show that this is more than rhetoric.
Yet scepticism is justified. The U.S. continues to flex military muscle when convenient, as seen in Venezuela. Allies remain uncertain about Washington’s consistency. Domestic politics may drive abrupt reversals. And the world’s crises—from Middle Eastern proxy wars to Indo-Pacific tensions —may yet pull America back into the role it claims to abandon.
In the end, the NSS 2025 is best understood as retrenchment for resilience rather than full retreat.
America is redefining its role, not disappearing from the stage. But whether this recalibration holds in the face of real crises remains an open question.
The views expressed here are entirely those of Dr Safar Hasim, a council Member of the Malaysian Press Institute (MPI)