I know this is a bold thesis. It is meant to provoke thought and encourage debate. Here are some of the considerations that led me to it:
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Europe depends on US military protection, and the US uses this “alliance” as leverage -> NATO gives Washington structural influence over European security choices.
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US tech firms dominate Europe’s cloud and software stack, creating digital dependency. Also, European data often sits under infrastructure exposed to US legal and corporate power.
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Russian energy dependence was a problem for Europe when the Ukraine war started. The US were quite eager when it came to “help” by replacing the Russian energy dependence with American energy dependence.
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US sanctions policy often forces Europe to absorb costs for Washington’s geopolitical priorities.
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American platforms shape European speech, commerce, administration, and most importantly: public debate.
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“Strategic autonomy” exists as a slogan because dependency is already the default.
From my standpoint I think that might be changing. A lot of recent American series an movies I quit after a few minutes because they are full of cringe, ad placements and/or super stupid. I didn’t have that a few years ago. I could also just be me getting old…
Yes. And even a few years ago, we had some Star Trek shows which got some weird criticism. But also a lot of valid criticism for being overly emotional in a very American way. Like they never do anything without someone delivering a 10 minute speech, filled with an absurd amount of emotionalism. And then they all swear in on some team spirit… While I miss the good old times when the characters would just show how they’re the good guys, and not talk about it a lot.
I watched it anyway, wasn’t a bad show after all. But they really should have cut some of the monologues to make it more enjoyable for people who don’t need all that emotionalism and holding hands with ideology.