The Monocle Minute

How engaged will the US remain with the world? Donald Trump’s expected choices of Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Mike Waltz as national security adviser suggest a deeper engagement than one might imagine. Both are Trump loyalists but they’re also from the more hawkish wings of the Republican Party: Waltz advocated for long-term military engagement in Afghanistan; Rubio has fiercely challenged the autocratic regimes of Latin America. Their nominations suggest that Trump might take less of an isolationist approach to foreign policy than his campaign rhetoric implied.

This would chime well with what the US public wants. Even if Trump’s support stemmed in part from public fatigue with the forever wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and, more recently, Ukraine, polls show that a majority of voters consistently advocate for the US to play a major role in world affairs. In other words, the electorate wants to see a shift in approach but not a retreat from the world altogether.

When talking to foreign-policy experts during my visit to Washington over the past two weeks, I was surprised by how many spoke of Trump’s desire to protect and shape his “legacy”. Atlantic Council CEO Frederick Kempe told me that Trump is keen to not be “humiliated” on the world stage and that this could be a driver of a more positive influence than his critics might expect.

Some of this rhetoric, like the many world leaders already congratulating the president-elect, is about creating something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you praise Donald Trump and frame your priorities as something that could benefit him and the US, he’ll be more inclined to do the thing that you want him to do. But it also reflects a global reality: the tone of diplomacy is changing but the necessity for US engagement with the world is not.

Christopher Cermak is Monocle’s senior news editor.

Military aircraft have taken centre-stage at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition. The country’s biggest airshow, which opened yesterday in the southern technology-and-manufacturing hub of Zhuhai, runs every two years and functions as a public showcase for the latest advances in Chinese industrial engineering for civilian and military aircraft. The new J35-A stealth fighter jet was unveiled yesterday and, for the first time, there is a dedicated section for drones, including the SS-UAV, an unmanned aerial vehicle that can release smaller strike craft.

There’s also a significant Russian presence, with the Su-57 stealth jet taking to the skies for a demonstration. Moscow and Beijing have deepened military ties since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while differences over Taiwan’s sovereignty have fuelled rising tensions between the US and China. Such displays of aerial prowess and sleek aircraft are a not-so-stealthy signal of China’s growing military might.

The Paris Peace Forum wrapped up its seventh edition yesterday, having opened on Monday to symbolically coincide with commemorations marking the end of the Second World War. The agenda was ambitious, ranging from revitalising multilateralism to peace in the Middle East, harnessing the potential of AI and accelerating the green transition. But the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his Slovenian counterpart, Nataša Pirc Musar, were the only heads of state or government in attendance.

That is a sharp contrast to the inaugural edition in 2018, when 65 of them were present, including then German chancellor Angela Merkel, and Vladimir Putin. Some of this scarcity is due to the fact that many bigwigs had already travelled to Paris this year for the Olympics and last month’s Sommet de la Francophonie. But it is also emblematic of waning enthusiasm for Western-led multilateral efforts. With many Western leaders consumed by increasingly isolationist politics, attention is quickly shifting to other regions (see The List below).

According to the Finnish weather service, Helsinki is Europe’s greyest capital at this time of the year. But that hasn’t stopped thousands of Finns from gathering to celebrate and bring some joy to this dark and rainy period. Last Saturday more than 8,000 people, many dressed in colourful overalls and wearing neon lights on their heads, took part in the “greyest day of the year” celebrations on Helsinki’s central Senate Square.

Some of the country’s biggest artists performed in a celebration of greyness that was broadcast on national television and sponsored by much-loved Finnish grapefruit-and-gin drink Lonkero (which is known for its distinctive colour: grey, of course). Similar celebrations took place all over the country, with pubs and bars hosting greyest-day-themed parties. “Embrace the dark, embrace the grey,” Helsinki mayor Juhana Vartiainen told Monocle Radio’s The Briefing. “You have to be a bit ironic.”

Hear Petri Burtsoff’s full report on the greyest day of the year celebrations on today’s edition of ‘The Briefing’ on Monocle Radio.

A special live edition recorded in Sydney on the sidelines of UBS’s 2024 Australasia Conference. Nic Monisse hosts a discussion about better design, urbanism and hospitality, featuring insights from Sydney Design Week creative director Keinton Butler, journalist Tim Ross and placemaking expert Jacqui Stanton. Plus: appearances by Monocle’s editorial director, Tyler Brûlé, and Asia editor, James Chambers.

Visit The Monocle Shop pop-up in the forecourt of the Museum of Sydney from 10.00 till 17.00 today and tomorrow.