On February 14, 2026, at the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio presented his concept, which has become an important manifesto for international politics. He not only criticized approaches to foreign policy but also outlined a new ideological course that, according to him, is intended to correct the mistakes of the last thirty years.
At the center of his speech was a sharp attack on Francis Fukuyama's philosophy of the "end of history." According to Rubio, Western elites have been mistaken in believing that liberal democracy has definitively triumphed and that national interests and borders will soon fade into oblivion. They hoped that globalization and trade would replace the cultural identity of nations, turning them into faceless "citizens of the world."
The Secretary of State characterized these beliefs as erroneous and contrary to human nature, as well as to the centuries-old history of civilization. He emphasized that the attempt to replace real national interests with abstract global concepts has led to serious consequences.
Essentially, Rubio challenged the foundations of Western strategy. While it was previously thought that all countries would eventually adopt Western values, Washington is now beginning to recognize the permanence of national interests, borders, and the right to distinctiveness. Ideology cannot ignore human nature.
This speech became a landmark event that changes the rules of the international game. The Secretary of State stated that the U.S. no longer intends to wait for the world to become liberal and unified. History is returning to its roots, to the struggle for influence, the protection of sovereignty, and the understanding that conflicts are a natural driver of progress.
Thus, the West is emerging from the comfortable "museum of history," where it hid behind trade statistics. Rubio's message is clear: in the real world, those who survive are the ones ready to defend their borders and identity. The era of naive illusions has come to an end, and the U.S. is openly returning to a tough policy of national realism.
