Critical:Dismantling Alliances: The Motives Behind Trump’s Foreign Policy Approach”…See Moren

Critical:Dismantling Alliances: The Motives Behind Trump’s Foreign Policy Approach”…See Moren

Washington, DC – Donald Trump’s world view can be difficult to pin down.

During the first 100 days of his second term, the United States president started a global trade war, targeting allies and foes alike. He also issued decrees to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement on climate and the World Health Organization, amongst other international forums.

Trump continued to double down on a series of unconventional foreign policy proposals: taking over the Panama Canal, annexing Greenland, making Canada the 51st US state and “owning” Gaza.

And despite promising to be a “peace” president, Trump has said he intends to take the US annual Pentagon budget to a record $1 trillion.

He has distanced himself from neo-conservative foreign policy and does not position himself as a promoter of human rights or democracy abroad. His “America First” stance and scepti
ples, but his impulsiveness and highly personalised diplomacy diverge from traditional realism.

At the same time, he has not called for a full military or diplomatic retreat from global affairs, setting him apart from isolationists.
So what exactly drives Trump’s foreign policy?

Experts say it is primarily fuelled by a dissatisfaction with the current global system, which he sees as unfairly disadvantaging the US with its rules and restrictions. Instead, Trump appears to want Washington to leverage its enormous military and economic power to set the rules to assert global dominance while reducing US contributions and commitments to others.

“The Trump doctrine is ‘smash and
The Trump doctrine is ‘smash and grab’, take what you want from others and let your allies do the same,” said Josh Ruebner, a lecturer at Georgetown University’s Program on Justice and Peace.