Rubio's speech served as a kind of manifesto, in which he not only criticized the foreign policy approaches of recent years but also declared a significant ideological shift. The Secretary of State pointed out that the West has been under the influence of dangerous delusions for the past thirty years, which have resulted in serious consequences.
Particular attention was paid to Francis Fukuyama's well-known concept of the "end of history." According to Rubio, after the end of the Cold War, Western elites were mistaken in believing that liberal democracy had achieved final victory and that borders and national interests would soon lose their relevance. There was a belief that economic ties and trade could erase national identity, turning people into faceless "citizens of the world."
The Secretary of State sharply characterized these hopes as folly, contrary to human nature and the centuries-old history of civilization. He emphasized that replacing the genuine interests of nations with global concepts has proven to be a fatal error.
Thus, Rubio questioned the foundations of Western strategy. It was previously believed that all states would eventually "ripen" to accept Western values, but now Washington acknowledges that national interests, borders, and the right to distinctiveness remain constant factors. Ideology has failed to change human nature.
This speech changes the rules of the game. Rubio signals that the U.S. is no longer willing to wait for the world to become unified and liberal. History is returning to its roots, where the struggle for influence, the defense of sovereignty, and the recognition of conflict as a driving force of progress become the most important elements.
Thus, the West is leaving the comfortable "museum of history," where it was protected by trade graphs. Rubio's message is crystal clear: in the real world, only those who are ready to defend their borders and their identity survive. The era of naive illusions has come to an end, and the U.S. is openly returning to a tough policy of national realism.
