International politics in 2025 was dominated by the return of Donald Trump to the White House. But the US president generates such a blizzard of news that it can be hard to remember everything that happened or to gauge its importance. So, looking back on the year, which events stand out as genuinely significant?
JD Vance’s speech to the Munich security conference on February 14 opened up a deep split in the western alliance. Vance’s argument that alleged anti-democratic tendencies in countries like Britain and Germany are more of a threat to freedom in Europe than Russian aggression outraged his audience.
On February 28, the vice-president played a central role in a televised confrontation with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. Vance chided the Ukrainian leader for alleged ingratitude, while Trump accused him of “gambling with world war three”. The conversation immediately raised fears that the US was poised to abandon Ukraine and to side with Russia. Although European leaders were able to help repair the relationship between the US and Zelenskyy, the Trump administration did in effect end direct financial and military support for Ukraine.