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{{Anti-communism|See also}}
{{Anti-communism|See also}}
{{anti-fascism sidebar}}
{{anti-fascism sidebar}}
The '''Free World''' is a [[propaganda]] term,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Haight |first1=David J. |title=Propaganda, Information And Psychological Warfare: Cold War And Hot—A List of Holdings: Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library |publisher=Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home |page=3 |date=April 2008 |url=http://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/subject-guides/pdf/propaganda-psychological-warfare.pdf |quote=Wide use of labels such as 'Free World,' is, itself, a form of propaganda intended to influence particular audiences. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318013306/http://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/subject-guides/pdf/propaganda-psychological-warfare.pdf |archive-date=18 March 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="def">{{cite web |last1=Gardner-Bird |first1=Samuel |title=The Myth of the "Free World" |url=https://inkstickmedia.com/the-myth-of-the-free-world/ |website=Inkstick |date=6 May 2022 |quote=The term “free world” is a propaganda term coined in the 1930s, initially as a slogan against the rise of fascism.}}</ref> primarily used during the [[Cold War]] from 1945 to 1991, to refer to the [[Western Bloc]] and aligned countries. It was originally coined in 1930s and used in the [[Second World War]].<ref name="def"/>
The "'''Free World'''" is a [[propaganda]] term,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Haight |first1=David J. |title=Propaganda, Information And Psychological Warfare: Cold War And Hot—A List of Holdings: Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library |publisher=Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home |page=3 |date=April 2008 |url=http://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/subject-guides/pdf/propaganda-psychological-warfare.pdf |quote=Wide use of labels such as 'Free World,' is, itself, a form of propaganda intended to influence particular audiences. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318013306/http://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/subject-guides/pdf/propaganda-psychological-warfare.pdf |archive-date=18 March 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Philip M. |editor1-last=Fortner |editor1-first=Robert S. |editor2-last=Fackler |editor2-first=P. Mark |title=The Handbook of Global Communication and Media Ethics |date=2011 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |isbn=9781405188128 |pages=912–932 |chapter=Ethics and International Propaganda |quote=A hot war broke out in Korea between 1950 and 1953 and the 1956 Suez Crisis threatened momentarily the Anglo-American alliance but as the bipolar world stuttered through these various crises, it was the ideological framework which set the tone for the international propaganda battle, essentially an extension of the wartime “free world vs. slave world” format.}}</ref> primarily used during the [[Second World War]]<ref name="fas"/> and [[Cold War]], to refer to the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]], [[Western Bloc]] and aligned countries.


The term refers more broadly to all [[liberal democracies]] collectively,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/free-world|title=THE FREE WORLD &#124; English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary|accessdate=14 April 2023}}</ref> as opposed to [[Fascism|fascist]]<ref name="def"/> and [[communist state]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Free World |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free%20world |website=Dictionary by Merriam-Webster |publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc. |access-date=18 January 2021}}</ref> It has traditionally primarily been used to refer to the countries allied and aligned with the [[United States]], the [[European Union]], and [[NATO]]. The term "leader of the free world" has been used to imply a symbolic and moral leadership, and was mostly used during the Cold War in reference to the [[president of the United States]].
During the [[Second World War]], the term was primarily used against [[fascism|fascist states]].<ref name="fas">{{cite book |last1=Lüthi |first1=Lorenz M. |title=Cold Wars: Asia, the Middle East, Europe |date=2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108418331 |page=90|chapter=The United States and the Free World|quote=The term Free World emerged in American political discourse in May 1940 in the wake of Germany’s attack on Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. It denoted all those democracies that resisted the aggression of authoritar- ian and “world revolutionary” states, such as Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist Germany, its Italian fascist brother, its militarist ally Japan, and its most recent collaborator – Iosif V. Stalin’s Soviet Union. In January 1941, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt explicitly called on Congress to grant military aid to the “free world.” But in the wake of the American entry into the war on the side of the Soviet Union eleven months later, Roosevelt used the term primarily to mean the “United Nations” which struggled against Germany, Italy, and Japan. In US public dis- course, it more generally referred to the post-war period of peace. By June 1945, however, Western newspapers again depicted the Free World as a group of liberal democracies, which, this time, were primarily in conflict with Stalin’s USSR.}}</ref> During the [[Cold War]],<ref name="fas"/> the term referred more broadly to all [[liberal democracies]] collectively,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/free-world|title=THE FREE WORLD &#124; English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary|accessdate=14 April 2023}}</ref> as opposed to [[communist state]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Free World |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free%20world |website=Dictionary by Merriam-Webster |publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc. |access-date=18 January 2021}}</ref> It has traditionally primarily been used to refer to the countries allied and aligned with the [[United States]], the [[European Union]], and [[NATO]]. The term "leader of the free world" has been used to imply a symbolic and moral leadership, and was mostly used during the Cold War in reference to the [[president of the United States]].


==History of the concept==
==History of the concept==
===Origins===
===Origins===
{{See also|Allies of World War II|Participants in World War II}}
The term "Free World" emerged in the political discourse of the United States in May 1940, following Germany's attack on Belgium, the Netherlands, and France during [[World War II]].<ref name=luthicw>{{cite book |last1=Lüthi |first1=Lorenz M. |title=Cold Wars: Asia, the Middle East, Europe |date=2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108418331 |pages=90–112 |chapter=The United States and the Free World}}</ref> It denoted all democracies that resisted authoritarian and [[world revolution]]ary states such as Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Soviet Union.<ref name=luthicw/> In June 1941, U.S. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] explicitly used the term when urging [[United States Congress|Congress]] to approve military aid.<ref name=luthicw/> However, following the United States' entry alongside the Soviet Union in the war, Roosevelt used the term primarily in reference to the [[United Nations#Declarations by the Allies of World War II (1941–1944)|United Nations]] in opposition against Germany, Italy, and Japan.<ref name=luthicw/>
{{moresources|section|date=January 2023}}
During [[World War II]], the [[Allies of World War II|Allied powers]] viewed themselves as opposing the oppression and [[fascism]] of the [[Axis powers]], thus making them "free". Following the end of World War II, the [[Cold War]] conception of the "Free World" included only anti-Soviet states as being "free", particularly democratically elected states with [[free speech]], a [[freedom of the press|free press]], [[freedom of assembly]] and [[freedom of association]].


During the Cold War, many neutral countries, either those in what is considered the [[Third World]], or those having no formal alliance with either the United States or the [[Soviet Union]], viewed the claim of "Free World" leadership by the United States as grandiose and illegitimate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wills |first=Garry |title=Bully of the Free World |journal=[[Foreign Affairs]] |volume=78 |issue=2 |date=March–April 1999 |pages=50–59 |doi=10.2307/20049208|jstor=20049208}}</ref>
In the years that followed the war, particularly during the [[Cold War]], the "Free World" came to encompass a bloc of democracies, such as the United States and many Western European nations, along with their anti-communist but authoritarian allies.<ref name=luthicw/> In 1950, [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] [[Daniel J. Flood]] commented "He{{who?|date=October 2025}} used the phrase 'free world' all the time—the free world, the free world, the free world. That impressed me very much vis-à-vis the Communist world, for instance. It is a tremendously good propaganda term. Is it being plugged enough?"<ref>United States Department of State (1950). ''[https://www.google.com/books/edition/Supplemental_Appropriation_Bill_for_1951/CLiMcdfz7qcC The Supplemental Appropriation Bill for 1951: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Eighty-First Congress, Second Session, on the Supplemental Appropriation Bill for 1951.]'' United States Government Printing Office. p. 68.</ref>


One of the earliest uses of the term ''Free World'' as a politically significant term occurs in [[Frank Capra|Frank Capra's]] World War II [[propaganda film]] series ''[[Why We Fight]]''. In ''[[Prelude to War]]'', the first film of that series, the "free world" is portrayed as a white planet, directly contrasted with the black planet called the "slave world". The film depicts the free world as the Western Hemisphere, led by the United States and Western Europe, and the slave world as the Eastern Hemisphere, dominated by [[Nazi Germany]], [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Fascist Italy]] and the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese Empire]].
During the Cold War, many neutral countries—either those in what is considered the [[Third World]], or those having no formal alliance with either the United States or the [[Soviet Union]]—viewed the claim of "Free World" leadership by the United States as grandiose and illegitimate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wills |first=Garry |title=Bully of the Free World |journal=[[Foreign Affairs]] |volume=78 |issue=2 |date=March–April 1999 |pages=50–59 |doi=10.2307/20049208|jstor=20049208}}</ref>


===21st century usage===
===21st century usage===
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===United States===
===United States===
[[File:George H. W. Bush presidential portrait (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[George H. W. Bush]], the [[president of the United States]] during the [[Fall of Communism]].]]
[[File:George H. W. Bush presidential portrait (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[George H. W. Bush]], the [[president of the United States]] during the [[Fall of Communism]]]]
The "Leader of the Free World" was a [[colloquialism]], first used during the [[Cold War]], to describe either the [[United States]] or, more commonly, the [[president of the United States]]. The term when used in this context suggested that the United States was the principal [[democracy|democratic]] [[superpower]], and the U.S. president was by extension the leader of the world's democratic states, i.e. the "Free World".
The "Leader of the Free World" was a [[colloquialism]], first used during the [[Cold War]], to describe either the [[United States]] or, more commonly, the [[president of the United States]]. The term when used in this context suggested that the United States was the principal [[democracy|democratic]] [[superpower]], and the U.S. president was by extension the leader of the world's democratic states, i.e. the "Free World".


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The phrase has its origin in the 1940s during the [[Second World War]], especially through the [[Anti-fascism|anti-fascist]] [[Free World (magazine)|''Free World'' magazine]] and the American [[propaganda film]] series ''[[Why We Fight]]''. At this time, the term was criticized for including the [[Soviet Union|Soviet Union (USSR)]], which critics saw as a totalitarian dictatorship. However, the term became more widely used against the USSR and its allies during the 1950s in the wake of [[Truman Doctrine]], when the United States depicted a foreign policy based on a struggle between "a democratic alliance and a communist realm set on world domination", according to the American magazine ''[[The Atlantic]]''.<ref name="The Atlantic Trump">Tierney, Dominic (24 January 2017). [https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/01/trump-free-world-leader/514232/ "What Does It Mean That Trump Is 'Leader of the Free World'?"]. ''[[The Atlantic]]''.</ref> The term here was criticized again for including right-wing dictatorships such as [[Francoist Spain]], and [[Nikita Khrushchev]] said in the [[21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|21st Congress of the Soviet Communist Party]] that "the so-called free world constitutes the kingdom of the dollar".<ref name="The Atlantic Trump" /><ref name="Safire2008">William Safire. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=c4UoX6-Sv1AC&pg=PA265 Safire's Political Dictionary]''. Oxford University Press; 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-19-534334-2}}. p. 265.</ref>
The phrase has its origin in the 1940s during the [[Second World War]], especially through the [[Anti-fascism|anti-fascist]] [[Free World (magazine)|''Free World'' magazine]] and the American [[propaganda film]] series ''[[Why We Fight]]''. At this time, the term was criticized for including the [[Soviet Union|Soviet Union (USSR)]], which critics saw as a totalitarian dictatorship. However, the term became more widely used against the USSR and its allies during the 1950s in the wake of [[Truman Doctrine]], when the United States depicted a foreign policy based on a struggle between "a democratic alliance and a communist realm set on world domination", according to the American magazine ''[[The Atlantic]]''.<ref name="The Atlantic Trump">Tierney, Dominic (24 January 2017). [https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/01/trump-free-world-leader/514232/ "What Does It Mean That Trump Is 'Leader of the Free World'?"]. ''[[The Atlantic]]''.</ref> The term here was criticized again for including right-wing dictatorships such as [[Francoist Spain]], and [[Nikita Khrushchev]] said in the [[21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|21st Congress of the Soviet Communist Party]] that "the so-called free world constitutes the kingdom of the dollar".<ref name="The Atlantic Trump" /><ref name="Safire2008">William Safire. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=c4UoX6-Sv1AC&pg=PA265 Safire's Political Dictionary]''. Oxford University Press; 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-19-534334-2}}. p. 265.</ref>


Although in decline after the mid-1970s,<ref name="The Atlantic Trump" /> the term was heavily referenced in US foreign policy up until the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in December 1991. After the presidency of [[George H. W. Bush]] the term has largely fallen out of use, in part for its usage in rhetoric critical of [[U.S. foreign policy]].<ref>{{cite book |title=To Lead the Free World |author=John Fousek |year=2000 |publisher=UNC Press Books |page=130 |isbn=0-8078-2525-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qGGGt-ui9sgC&pg=PA130}}</ref> However, the term is still used at times to describe the president of the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Flanagan |first=Ryan |date=2021-01-19 |title=Does 'leader of the free world' still accurately describe the U.S. president? |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/does-leader-of-the-free-world-still-accurately-describe-the-u-s-president-1.5273282 |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=CTVNews |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gotev |first=Georgi |date=2022-02-14 |title=The Brief – The leader of the free world |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/opinion/the-brief-the-leader-of-the-free-world/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=www.euractiv.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tierney |first=Dominic |date=2017-01-24 |title=What Does It Mean That Trump Is 'Leader of the Free World'? |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/01/trump-free-world-leader/514232/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref>
Although in decline after the mid-1970s,<ref name="The Atlantic Trump" /> the term was heavily referenced in US foreign policy up until the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in December 1991. After the presidency of [[George H. W. Bush]] the term has largely fallen out of use, in part for its usage in rhetoric critical of [[U.S. foreign policy]].<ref>{{cite book |title=To Lead the Free World |author=John Fousek |year=2000 |publisher=UNC Press Books |page=130 |isbn=0-8078-2525-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qGGGt-ui9sgC&pg=PA130}}</ref> In the late 2010s and into the 2020s, the term was still being used to describe the United States, its president, and as part of rhetoric critical of the president and U.S. policies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Flanagan |first=Ryan |date=2021-01-19 |title=Does 'leader of the free world' still accurately describe the U.S. president? |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/article/does-leader-of-the-free-world-still-accurately-describe-the-us-president/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=CTVNews |language=en }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gotev |first=Georgi |date=2022-02-14 |title=The Brief – The leader of the free world |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/opinion/the-brief-the-leader-of-the-free-world/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=www.euractiv.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tierney |first=Dominic |date=2017-01-24 |title=What Does It Mean That Trump Is 'Leader of the Free World'? |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/01/trump-free-world-leader/514232/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kirchick |first=James |date=2025-03-21 |title=Opinion {{!}} The 'Free World' Is Gone and There's No Turning Back |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/03/21/the-free-world-is-gone-and-theres-no-turning-back-00240256 |access-date=2025-06-01 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}</ref>


===European Union===  
===European Union===
On 6 May 2010, upon an address to the [[plenary chamber]] of the [[European Parliament]], the then US Vice President [[Joe Biden]], stated that [[Brussels]] had a "legitimate claim" to the title of "capital of the free world", normally a title reserved for Washington. He added that Brussels is a "great city which boasts 1,000 years of history and serves as capital of Belgium, the home of many of the [[institutions of the European Union]] and the [[NATO headquarters|headquarters]] of the [[NATO]] alliance."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://euobserver.com/justice/30025|title=Biden sweet-talks MEPs on anti-terrorism deal|access-date=2017-05-19|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sarajevo.usembassy.gov/washdc_20100506.html|title=2010 News from Washington|agency=Embassy of the United States Bosnia & Herzegovina|website=sarajevo.usembassy.gov|language=en|access-date=2017-05-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216192220/http://sarajevo.usembassy.gov/washdc_20100506.html|archive-date=16 February 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
On 6 May 2010, upon an address to the [[plenary chamber]] of the [[European Parliament]], the then US Vice President [[Joe Biden]], stated that [[Brussels]] had a "legitimate claim" to the title of "capital of the free world", normally a title reserved for Washington. He added that Brussels is a "great city which boasts 1,000 years of history and serves as capital of Belgium, the home of many of the [[institutions of the European Union]] and the [[NATO headquarters|headquarters]] of the [[NATO]] alliance."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://euobserver.com/justice/30025|title=Biden sweet-talks MEPs on anti-terrorism deal|access-date=2017-05-19|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sarajevo.usembassy.gov/washdc_20100506.html|title=2010 News from Washington|agency=Embassy of the United States Bosnia & Herzegovina|website=sarajevo.usembassy.gov|language=en|access-date=2017-05-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216192220/http://sarajevo.usembassy.gov/washdc_20100506.html|archive-date=16 February 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>


===Germany===  
===Germany===
[[File:Angela Merkel Juli 2010 - 3zu4.jpg|thumb|right|[[Angela Merkel]] served as the [[Chancellor of Germany]] from 2005 to 2021]]
[[File:Angela Merkel Juli 2010 - 3zu4.jpg|thumb|right|[[Angela Merkel]] served as the [[Chancellor of Germany]] from 2005 to 2021.]]


When [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']] declared the [[Chancellor of Germany|German Chancellor]] [[Angela Merkel]] [[Time Person of the Year]] for 2015, they referred to her as "Europe's most powerful leader", and the cover bore the title "Chancellor of the Free World".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2015-angela-merkel-choice/ |title=Why Angela Merkel is TIME's Person of the Year |first=Nancy |last=Gibbs |date=9 December 2015 |access-date=29 November 2015}}</ref>  
When [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']] declared the [[Chancellor of Germany|German Chancellor]] [[Angela Merkel]] [[Time Person of the Year]] for 2015, they referred to her as "Europe's most powerful leader", and the cover bore the title "Chancellor of the Free World".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2015-angela-merkel-choice/ |title=Why Angela Merkel is TIME's Person of the Year |first=Nancy |last=Gibbs |date=9 December 2015 |access-date=29 November 2015}}</ref>
Following the election of [[Donald Trump]] to the US presidency in November 2016, ''[[The New York Times]]'' called Merkel "the Liberal West's Last Defender",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/world/europe/germany-merkel-trump-election.html |title=As Obama Exits World Stage, Angela Merkel May Be the Liberal West's Last Defender |last1=Smale |first1=Alison |first2=Steven |last2=Erlanger |date=12 November 2016 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> and a number of commentators called her "the next leader of the free world".<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=29 November 2017|date=21 November 2016  |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/11/21/how-angela-merkel-a-conservative-became-the-leader-of-the-liberal-free-world/ |title=How Angela Merkel, a conservative, became the 'leader of the free world |quote=Now, she is being hailed as the 'leader of the free world' on social media and by some commentators as the Obama era nears its end, Britain is beset by upheavals over plans to leave the European Union and France faces its own break-the-mold populist surge.}}</ref><ref name="Politico 17 November 2016">{{cite web|work=Politico |url=http://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-angela-merkel-the-last-leader-of-the-free-world/ |title=Angela Merkel's new job: global savior |date=17 November 2016  |quote=The fear of a xenophobic populist in the White House has liberals everywhere looking to Berlin for moral guidance. They tout Angela Merkel as the new torchbearer for human rights. They call her the next leader of the free world. |first=Konstantin |last=Richter}}</ref> Merkel herself rejected the description.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://time.com/4598467/angela-merkel-donald-trump-liberal-democracy/ |magazine=Time|access-date=29 November 2017 |date=12 December 2016 |title=Why Angela Merkel Isn't Ready to Be the 'Leader of the Free World' |first=Simon |last=Shuster |quote=Many commentators even began referring to Merkel as the new leader of the free world, a title that she dismissed as 'grotesque' and 'absurd'.}}</ref> An article by [[James Rubin]] in [[Politico]] about a White House meeting between Merkel and Trump was ironically<ref name="Zeit March 2017" /> titled "The Leader of the Free World Meets Donald Trump".<ref>{{Cite news|first=James P. |last=Rubin |url=http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/the-leader-of-the-free-world-meets-donald-trump-214924|title=The Leader of the Free World Meets Donald Trump |work=Politico|access-date=29 November 2017}}</ref>
Following the election of [[Donald Trump]] to the US presidency in November 2016, ''[[The New York Times]]'' called Merkel "the Liberal West's Last Defender",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/world/europe/germany-merkel-trump-election.html |title=As Obama Exits World Stage, Angela Merkel May Be the Liberal West's Last Defender |last1=Smale |first1=Alison |first2=Steven |last2=Erlanger |date=12 November 2016 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> and a number of commentators called her "the next leader of the free world".<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=29 November 2017|date=21 November 2016  |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/11/21/how-angela-merkel-a-conservative-became-the-leader-of-the-liberal-free-world/ |title=How Angela Merkel, a conservative, became the 'leader of the free world |quote=Now, she is being hailed as the 'leader of the free world' on social media and by some commentators as the Obama era nears its end, Britain is beset by upheavals over plans to leave the European Union and France faces its own break-the-mold populist surge.}}</ref><ref name="Politico 17 November 2016">{{cite web|work=Politico |url=http://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-angela-merkel-the-last-leader-of-the-free-world/ |title=Angela Merkel's new job: global savior |date=17 November 2016  |quote=The fear of a xenophobic populist in the White House has liberals everywhere looking to Berlin for moral guidance. They tout Angela Merkel as the new torchbearer for human rights. They call her the next leader of the free world. |first=Konstantin |last=Richter}}</ref> Merkel herself rejected the description.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://time.com/4598467/angela-merkel-donald-trump-liberal-democracy/ |magazine=Time|access-date=29 November 2017 |date=12 December 2016 |title=Why Angela Merkel Isn't Ready to Be the 'Leader of the Free World' |first=Simon |last=Shuster |quote=Many commentators even began referring to Merkel as the new leader of the free world, a title that she dismissed as 'grotesque' and 'absurd'.}}</ref> An article by [[James Rubin]] in [[Politico]] about a White House meeting between Merkel and Trump was ironically<ref name="Zeit March 2017" /> titled "The Leader of the Free World Meets Donald Trump".<ref>{{Cite news|first=James P. |last=Rubin |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/the-leader-of-the-free-world-meets-donald-trump-214924/|title=The Leader of the Free World Meets Donald Trump |work=Politico|access-date=29 November 2017}}</ref>


German commentators agreed with Merkel's assessment,<ref name="Zeit March 2017">{{Cite news |date=22 March 2017|access-date=29 November 2017 |work=Die Zeit |title=Nein, die Führerin der freien Welt ist Merkel nicht |trans-title=No, Merkel is not the leader of the free world |first=Matthias |last=Naß |url=http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2017-03/angela-merkel-besuch-donald-trump-usa-europaeische-union |quote=Als 'absurd und grotesk' hat sie den Gedanken zurückgewiesen, die Führung des Westens könne vom amerikanischen Präsidenten auf den deutschen Regierungschef übergehen. Eigentlich eine pure Selbstverständlichkeit, aber vielleicht wären andere für die Schmeichelei empfänglich gewesen. ['Absurd and grotesque' is how she rejected the idea that leadership of the West could be transferred from the American president to the German head of government. Which goes without saying, really, but others might have been more receptive to such flattery.]}}</ref> and [[Friedrich Merz]], a [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]] politician, said that a German chancellor could never be "leader of the free world".<ref>{{Cite news |access-date=29 November 2017 |publisher=WeltN24  |date=12 June 2017 |title=Ein Bundeskanzler kann nie 'Führer der freien Welt' sein|trans-title=A German chancellor can never be 'leader of the free world  |first=Torsten |last=Krauel |url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article165426400/Ein-Bundeskanzler-kann-nie-Fuehrer-der-freien-Welt-sein.html|quote='Ein deutscher Bundeskanzlerkann nie "der Führer der freien Welt" sein' ... |newspaper=Die Welt}}</ref> In April 2017, columnist [[James Kirchick]] stressed the importance of the [[German federal election, 2017|German elections]] (on which "the future of the free world" depended) since America had "abdicated its traditional role as leader of the free world by electing Trump, the United Kingdom was turning inward after the referendum [[Brexit|decision to leave]] the European Union, and France was also traditionally unilateralist and now had an inexperienced president"; he called Merkel "something less than leader of the free world ... but something greater than the leader of just another random country".<ref>{{cite news |date=6 April 2017 |access-date=29 November 2017 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title=Op-Ed: Germans need to recognize that the future of the free world depends on their election|first=James |last=Kirchick |url=http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-kirchick-merkel-20170406-story.html}}</ref> References to America's abdication of its role as leader of the free world continued or increased after [[Donald Trump]] questioned the unconditional defence of [[NATO]] partners and the [[Paris climate accord]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/is-this-angela-merkels-moment-to-lead-trumps-move-to-pull-out-of-paris-accord-is-further-riling-europe|title=Matthew Fisher: Merkel's moment to lead? Trump's exit from Paris accord further riles Europe|work=National Post|access-date=29 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Vennochi|first1=Joan|title=Merkel, not Trump, rules on the world stage|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/05/31/merkel-not-trump-rules-world-stage/aM9Z3nqpRCAuwlWheb2K4K/story.html|access-date=29 November 2017|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=31 May 2017}}</ref>
German commentators agreed with Merkel's assessment,<ref name="Zeit March 2017">{{Cite news |date=22 March 2017|access-date=29 November 2017 |work=Die Zeit |title=Nein, die Führerin der freien Welt ist Merkel nicht |trans-title=No, Merkel is not the leader of the free world |first=Matthias |last=Naß |url=http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2017-03/angela-merkel-besuch-donald-trump-usa-europaeische-union |quote=Als 'absurd und grotesk' hat sie den Gedanken zurückgewiesen, die Führung des Westens könne vom amerikanischen Präsidenten auf den deutschen Regierungschef übergehen. Eigentlich eine pure Selbstverständlichkeit, aber vielleicht wären andere für die Schmeichelei empfänglich gewesen. ['Absurd and grotesque' is how she rejected the idea that leadership of the West could be transferred from the American president to the German head of government. Which goes without saying, really, but others might have been more receptive to such flattery.]}}</ref> and [[Friedrich Merz]], a [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]] politician, said that a German chancellor could never be "leader of the free world".<ref>{{Cite news |access-date=29 November 2017 |publisher=WeltN24  |date=12 June 2017 |title=Ein Bundeskanzler kann nie 'Führer der freien Welt' sein|trans-title=A German chancellor can never be 'leader of the free world  |first=Torsten |last=Krauel |url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article165426400/Ein-Bundeskanzler-kann-nie-Fuehrer-der-freien-Welt-sein.html|quote='Ein deutscher Bundeskanzlerkann nie "der Führer der freien Welt" sein' ... |newspaper=Die Welt}}</ref> In April 2017, columnist [[James Kirchick]] stressed the importance of the [[German federal election, 2017|German elections]] (on which "the future of the free world" depended) since America had "abdicated its traditional role as leader of the free world by electing Trump, the United Kingdom was turning inward after the referendum [[Brexit|decision to leave]] the European Union, and France was also traditionally unilateralist and now had an inexperienced president"; he called Merkel "something less than leader of the free world ... but something greater than the leader of just another random country".<ref>{{cite news |date=6 April 2017 |access-date=29 November 2017 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title=Op-Ed: Germans need to recognize that the future of the free world depends on their election|first=James |last=Kirchick |url=http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-kirchick-merkel-20170406-story.html}}</ref> References to America's abdication of its role as leader of the free world continued or increased after [[Donald Trump]] questioned the unconditional defence of [[NATO]] partners and the [[Paris climate accord]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/world/is-this-angela-merkels-moment-to-lead-trumps-move-to-pull-out-of-paris-accord-is-further-riling-europe|title=Matthew Fisher: Merkel's moment to lead? Trump's exit from Paris accord further riles Europe|work=National Post|access-date=29 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Vennochi|first1=Joan|title=Merkel, not Trump, rules on the world stage|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/05/31/merkel-not-trump-rules-world-stage/aM9Z3nqpRCAuwlWheb2K4K/story.html|access-date=29 November 2017|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=31 May 2017}}</ref>


[[Jagoda Marinić]], writing for ''[[The New York Times]]'', noted that "Barack Obama all but literally passed on the mantle of 'leader of the free world' to Ms. Merkel (and not Mr. Trump), and most Germans feel empowered by that new responsibility" and that Germany "is coming to understand its role in standing up for liberal democracy in a world turning more and more authoritarian."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/25/opinion/trump-is-saving-germanys-liberals.html|title=Opinion - Trump Is Saving Germany's Liberals|newspaper=The New York Times|date=25 June 2018|last1=Marinic|first1=Jagoda}}</ref>
[[Jagoda Marinić]], writing for ''[[The New York Times]]'', noted that "Barack Obama all but literally passed on the mantle of 'leader of the free world' to Ms. Merkel (and not Mr. Trump), and most Germans feel empowered by that new responsibility" and that Germany "is coming to understand its role in standing up for liberal democracy in a world turning more and more authoritarian."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/25/opinion/trump-is-saving-germanys-liberals.html|title=Opinion - Trump Is Saving Germany's Liberals|newspaper=The New York Times|date=25 June 2018|last1=Marinic|first1=Jagoda}}</ref>
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* ''[[Annuit cœptis]]''
* ''[[Annuit cœptis]]''
* "[[Axis of evil]]"
* "[[Axis of evil]]"
*[[CRINK]]
* [[Tear down this wall!|Berlin Wall speech]]
* [[Tear down this wall!|Berlin Wall speech]]
* ''[[Carthago delenda est]]''
* ''[[Carthago delenda est]]''

Latest revision as of 03:24, 10 November 2025

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "other uses". Template:Use dmy dates Template:Sidebar with collapsible lists Template:Anti-communism Template:Anti-fascism sidebar The "Free World" is a propaganda term,[1][2] primarily used during the Second World War[3] and Cold War, to refer to the Allies, Western Bloc and aligned countries.

During the Second World War, the term was primarily used against fascist states.[3] During the Cold War,[3] the term referred more broadly to all liberal democracies collectively,[4] as opposed to communist states.[5] It has traditionally primarily been used to refer to the countries allied and aligned with the United States, the European Union, and NATO. The term "leader of the free world" has been used to imply a symbolic and moral leadership, and was mostly used during the Cold War in reference to the president of the United States.

History of the concept

Origins

The term "Free World" emerged in the political discourse of the United States in May 1940, following Germany's attack on Belgium, the Netherlands, and France during World War II.[6] It denoted all democracies that resisted authoritarian and world revolutionary states such as Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Soviet Union.[6] In June 1941, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt explicitly used the term when urging Congress to approve military aid.[6] However, following the United States' entry alongside the Soviet Union in the war, Roosevelt used the term primarily in reference to the United Nations in opposition against Germany, Italy, and Japan.[6]

In the years that followed the war, particularly during the Cold War, the "Free World" came to encompass a bloc of democracies, such as the United States and many Western European nations, along with their anti-communist but authoritarian allies.[6] In 1950, U.S. Representative Daniel J. Flood commented "HeTemplate:Who? used the phrase 'free world' all the time—the free world, the free world, the free world. That impressed me very much vis-à-vis the Communist world, for instance. It is a tremendously good propaganda term. Is it being plugged enough?"[7]

During the Cold War, many neutral countries—either those in what is considered the Third World, or those having no formal alliance with either the United States or the Soviet Union—viewed the claim of "Free World" leadership by the United States as grandiose and illegitimate.[8]

21st century usage

While "Free World" had its origins in the Cold War, the phrase is still used after the end of the Cold War and during the Global War on Terrorism.[9] Samuel P. Huntington said the term has been replaced by the concept of the international community, which, he argued, "has become the euphemistic collective noun (replacing "the Free World") to give global legitimacy to actions reflecting the interests of the United States and other Western powers."[10]

Leadership of the Free World

United States

File:George H. W. Bush presidential portrait (cropped).jpg
George H. W. Bush, the president of the United States during the Fall of Communism

The "Leader of the Free World" was a colloquialism, first used during the Cold War, to describe either the United States or, more commonly, the president of the United States. The term when used in this context suggested that the United States was the principal democratic superpower, and the U.S. president was by extension the leader of the world's democratic states, i.e. the "Free World".

<templatestyles src="Template:Quote_box/styles.css" />

But remember, we have differences with our allies all over the world. They are family differences, and sometimes they are acute, but, by and large, the reason we call it "free world" is because each nation in it wants to remain independent under its own government and not under some dictatorial form of government.

—Dwight D. Eisenhower (to the Associated Press, 1 October), The Los Angeles Times, 2 October 1958

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The phrase has its origin in the 1940s during the Second World War, especially through the anti-fascist Free World magazine and the American propaganda film series Why We Fight. At this time, the term was criticized for including the Soviet Union (USSR), which critics saw as a totalitarian dictatorship. However, the term became more widely used against the USSR and its allies during the 1950s in the wake of Truman Doctrine, when the United States depicted a foreign policy based on a struggle between "a democratic alliance and a communist realm set on world domination", according to the American magazine The Atlantic.[11] The term here was criticized again for including right-wing dictatorships such as Francoist Spain, and Nikita Khrushchev said in the 21st Congress of the Soviet Communist Party that "the so-called free world constitutes the kingdom of the dollar".[11][12]

Although in decline after the mid-1970s,[11] the term was heavily referenced in US foreign policy up until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. After the presidency of George H. W. Bush the term has largely fallen out of use, in part for its usage in rhetoric critical of U.S. foreign policy.[13] In the late 2010s and into the 2020s, the term was still being used to describe the United States, its president, and as part of rhetoric critical of the president and U.S. policies.[14][15][16][17]

European Union

On 6 May 2010, upon an address to the plenary chamber of the European Parliament, the then US Vice President Joe Biden, stated that Brussels had a "legitimate claim" to the title of "capital of the free world", normally a title reserved for Washington. He added that Brussels is a "great city which boasts 1,000 years of history and serves as capital of Belgium, the home of many of the institutions of the European Union and the headquarters of the NATO alliance."[18][19]

Germany

File:Angela Merkel Juli 2010 - 3zu4.jpg
Angela Merkel served as the Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021.

When Time declared the German Chancellor Angela Merkel Time Person of the Year for 2015, they referred to her as "Europe's most powerful leader", and the cover bore the title "Chancellor of the Free World".[20] Following the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency in November 2016, The New York Times called Merkel "the Liberal West's Last Defender",[21] and a number of commentators called her "the next leader of the free world".[22][23] Merkel herself rejected the description.[24] An article by James Rubin in Politico about a White House meeting between Merkel and Trump was ironically[25] titled "The Leader of the Free World Meets Donald Trump".[26]

German commentators agreed with Merkel's assessment,[25] and Friedrich Merz, a CDU politician, said that a German chancellor could never be "leader of the free world".[27] In April 2017, columnist James Kirchick stressed the importance of the German elections (on which "the future of the free world" depended) since America had "abdicated its traditional role as leader of the free world by electing Trump, the United Kingdom was turning inward after the referendum decision to leave the European Union, and France was also traditionally unilateralist and now had an inexperienced president"; he called Merkel "something less than leader of the free world ... but something greater than the leader of just another random country".[28] References to America's abdication of its role as leader of the free world continued or increased after Donald Trump questioned the unconditional defence of NATO partners and the Paris climate accord.[29][30]

Jagoda Marinić, writing for The New York Times, noted that "Barack Obama all but literally passed on the mantle of 'leader of the free world' to Ms. Merkel (and not Mr. Trump), and most Germans feel empowered by that new responsibility" and that Germany "is coming to understand its role in standing up for liberal democracy in a world turning more and more authoritarian."[31]

Other commentators—in the United States and Europe—rejected the appellation "Leader of the Free World":[32][33] some argued that there is no single leader of the 'free world';[34][35] others queried whether Merkel remained the "leader of the free world" and the champion of liberal values.[36] Questioned about Merkel's standing following her performance in the German elections in September 2017, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opined that Merkel was "the most important leader in the free world".[37] However, after Merkel's party suffered losses in the 2017 election and there were delays in forming a government, the claim that Merkel is the true leader of the free world was referred to as a "joke",[38] described as a media phenomenon,[39] and otherwise called into question.[40][41][42]

When Merkel retired as chancellor, Hillary Clinton wrote that "she led Europe through difficult times with steadiness and bravery, and for four long years, she was the leader of the free world."[43][44]

See also

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References

Template:Reflist Template:Western culture

  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ United States Department of State (1950). The Supplemental Appropriation Bill for 1951: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Eighty-First Congress, Second Session, on the Supplemental Appropriation Bill for 1951. United States Government Printing Office. p. 68.
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Huntington, Samuel P. "The Clash of Civilizations," 72 Foreign Aff. 22 (1992–1993)
  11. ↑ a b c Tierney, Dominic (24 January 2017). "What Does It Mean That Trump Is 'Leader of the Free World'?". The Atlantic.
  12. ↑ William Safire. Safire's Political Dictionary. Oxford University Press; 2008. Template:ISBN. p. 265.
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
  25. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  44. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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