"Superpower Suicide" — Timothy Snyder on What America Is Doing to Itself

Timothy Snyder argues that the current U.S. approach to Canada is not normal alliance management but a broader abandonment of statecraft. He says the people making U.S. policy now do not think in terms of the interests of the United States; instead they pursue short-term gains for a small number of individuals, whether that means pressuring Canada, the European Union, or other partners.

Snyder says the big mismatch is that Canada still behaves like a country with interests to defend, while the Trump camp treats the United States as a vehicle for private enrichment. In his view, Mark Carney’s response makes sense because it is rooted in protecting Canadian interests and in building tighter ties among democracies facing pressure from China, Russia, and, under Trump, the United States itself.

Pressed for a historical analogy, Snyder says he struggles to find one and lands on “superpower suicide” as the best description. He argues the damage is not just immediate policy error: it also weakens democracy, education, and scientific research, while making the United States less capable in the future. He adds that the people around Trump may see the post-Soviet scramble by oligarchs as a model for how power can be used to break institutions and seize resources.