German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has delivered an unusually sharp rebuke of U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump, warning that the international system risks collapsing into what he described as a “den of robbers” if global norms are no longer defended.
Speaking at a symposium in Germany, Steinmeier said democratic values and the post-war world order were under greater strain than at any point in recent history. His remarks appeared to reference recent U.S. actions abroad, including the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend, though he did not name specific events.
While Germany’s presidency is largely ceremonial, Steinmeier’s words carry symbolic weight. As a former foreign minister, he is seen as one of Germany’s most experienced voices on international affairs and has greater latitude than serving government officials to express criticism.
Steinmeier said the erosion of democratic norms was no longer limited to authoritarian states, warning that the conduct of long-standing allies now posed a serious challenge to the global system they helped create.
“The breakdown of values by our most important partner, the United States, which helped build this world order, represents a historic rupture,” Steinmeier said during his address.
The German president described Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine as the first major rupture in the post-Cold War order. He said recent U.S. behavior amounted to a second turning point that could further weaken international law and multilateral cooperation.
Steinmeier warned against a world in which power alone dictates outcomes. “It is about preventing the world from turning into a den of robbers, where the most unscrupulous take whatever they want, and where regions or entire countries are treated as the property of a few great powers,” he said.
According to Steinmeier, the erosion of shared rules risks normalizing territorial grabs, coercive diplomacy, and the sidelining of democratic institutions.
Steinmeier said defending the international order would require active engagement beyond Europe and the United States. He argued that major emerging powers such as Brazil and India must be persuaded to take on greater responsibility in upholding global norms.
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“In threatening situations, active intervention is needed,” he said, adding that protecting the world order could not be left to a shrinking group of countries.
Steinmeier’s remarks come amid growing transatlantic unease over U.S. foreign policy direction, particularly following Washington’s recent actions in Latin America and its approach to global alliances. European leaders have increasingly voiced concern that unilateral moves could undermine decades of cooperation.
Germany’s government has not formally commented on the speech, but the comments reflect broader debates within Europe over how to safeguard international stability as geopolitical competition intensifies.