He's back with a vengeance. On the first anniversary of his second inauguration, Donald Trump is using all the levers at his disposal to enact retribution on his adversaries at home and the guardians of the old liberal order abroad. 

Read moreThousands rally across US against Trump policies on inauguration anniversary

One year on, why did voters in the US decide to overlook the attempt by his supporters to overturn by force the result of the 2020 elections and return to office the twice-impeached Donald Trump? This time, it's different, very different.

The 79-year-old president wields so much power that he can send masked federal agents into the streets and even raise doubts for some over the fair conduct of midterm elections in opposition strongholds. Inside the Oval Office, boomers raised during the Cold War have been replaced by Gen Zers enthralled by the "move fast and break things" mantra of Silicon Valley tech titans. 

As Europeans scramble in the face of hostile tariffs, calls to grab Greenland and official policy that states the US must "cultivate resistance" within the continent to "Europe’s current trajectory", its leaders face many of the same post-pandemic issues: an ageing population, a head-swimmingly fast digital transformation, a loneliness epidemic among young and old alike, and echo chambers that monetise shock and outrage.