Abstract
How does President Trump see the world and seek to change it? The chapter examines this question in the context of America’s foreign policy traditions—nationalism, realism, conservative internationalism, and liberal internationalism. Trump is more nationalist than recent presidents, believing like George Washington and Andrew Jackson that America should stay out of the affairs of other nations unless there is an imminent threat. On the other hand, he is also a realist like Teddy Roosevelt and Richard Nixon committed to maintain the status quo and compete in the great power struggle with Russia and China. What he is not is an internationalist, either conservative who hopes to change the world through the spread of democracy like Ronald Reagan or liberal who seeks to strengthen international institutions and trade like Bill Clinton. Nevertheless, he is not unraveling the postwar internationalist order but taking a pause to put it on a more sustainable basis for the future.
Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, The George Washington University, and author most recently of Conservative Internationalism (Princeton University Press, paperback with new preface 2015).
For publication in Stanley Renshon and Peter Suedfeld, The Trump Doctrine and the Emerging International System, Palgrave/Macmillan, forthcoming.
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Nau, H.R. (2021). Trump and America’s Foreign Policy Traditions. In: Renshon, S.A., Suedfeld, P. (eds) The Trump Doctrine and the Emerging International System. The Evolving American Presidency. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45050-2_3
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