UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs

The second Trump Administration has quickly abandoned longstanding American commitments to European security and to Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion. Between this and an increasingly belligerent Russia, European leaders are rightly planning how to best remilitarize to defend the continent. But European rearmament faces significant exogenous and endogenous obstacles. Meanwhile, other democratic nations around the globe are similarly confronting the loss of American leadership and increasing autocratic aggression. This Comment discusses how global collective action among democracies is a more effective and durable approach than regional solutions. It first traces the promise and challenges of European rearmament, then turns to situations facing democracies in other parts of the world. The Comment concludes by offering four policy considerations to guide global democratic rearmament.