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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> 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/does-leader-of-the-free-world-still-accurately-describe-the-u-s-president-1.5273282 |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=CTVNews |language=en |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{dead link|date=June 2025}}<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>
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/does-leader-of-the-free-world-still-accurately-describe-the-u-s-president-1.5273282 |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=CTVNews |language=en }}{{dead link|date=June 2025}}</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===
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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=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>

Revision as of 22:28, 23 June 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]Template:Better source[2] primarily used during the Cold War from 1945 to 1991, to refer to the Western Bloc and aligned countries. It was originally coined in the 1930s and used in the Second World War.[2]Template:Better source

The term refers more broadly to all liberal democracies collectively,[3] as opposed to fascist[2] and communist states.[4] 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

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Template:Moresources During World War II, the 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 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.[5]

One of the earliest uses of the term Free World as a politically significant term occurs in 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 and the Japanese Empire.

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.[6] 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."[7]

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.[8] 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".[8][9]

Although in decline after the mid-1970s,[8] 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.[10] 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.[11][12][13][14]

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."[15][16]

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".[17] 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",[18] and a number of commentators called her "the next leader of the free world".[19][20] Merkel herself rejected the description.[21] An article by James Rubin in Politico about a White House meeting between Merkel and Trump was ironically[22] titled "The Leader of the Free World Meets Donald Trump".[23]

German commentators agreed with Merkel's assessment,[22] and Friedrich Merz, a CDU politician, said that a German chancellor could never be "leader of the free world".[24] 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".[25] 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.[26][27]

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."[28]

Other commentators—in the United States and Europe—rejected the appellation "Leader of the Free World":[29][30] some argued that there is no single leader of the 'free world';[31][32] others queried whether Merkel remained the "leader of the free world" and the champion of liberal values.[33] 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".[34] 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",[35] described as a media phenomenon,[36] and otherwise called into question.[37][38][39]

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."[40][41]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Huntington, Samuel P. "The Clash of Civilizations," 72 Foreign Aff. 22 (1992–1993)
  8. ↑ a b c Tierney, Dominic (24 January 2017). "What Does It Mean That Trump Is 'Leader of the Free World'?". The Atlantic.
  9. ↑ William Safire. Safire's Political Dictionary. Oxford University Press; 2008. Template:ISBN. p. 265.
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Template:Dead link
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  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. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
  22. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ 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".
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