The Trump administration is trying to reshape the geopolitical dynamics so that America remains the world’s sole superpower in the era of a new world order – and his new National Security Strategy reflects exactly that.
Introduction
Key Tenets of the Strategy
- Focus on narrow American interests
- Peace through military strength
- Realism over ideology
- Adherence to the principle of non-interventionism
- Fair Alliance – no more free riding
- Re-industrializing the US and boosting energy production
A Critique of Previous US Policies
The US NSS-2025 explicitly declared the post-Cold War US strategy as a mere facilitator to the international community at the expense of the US domestic and national priorities. It also plainly points out several huge inaccuracies in the former US foreign policy positions, such as the over-calculation of the US capacity to finance the whole world, in supposing the US as a giant welfare regulatory-administrative condition, as well as a giant military, diplomacy, intelligence complex, and foreign aid one. According to the Trump administration, these fault lines have caused serious dents to the American economy and allowed the US adversaries to take advantage of the US outsourcing in pursuing their own anti-American agenda. The Trump administration believes in the fact that to be strong abroad, they have to be strong at home, and it can only be done when the US foreign policy elites abandon their policies of dragging America into endless commitments.
Redrawing America’s Map of Priorities
The US NSS-2025 is a big shakeup for global politics, which presents to the entire international community a new and modified list of American national and foreign priorities. This 33-page document is basically a blueprint of how America plans to reshape the emerging world order. The document entails five core foreign policy interests of the US. Remember, the chronological order in which these interests are listed is of utmost importance.
1. According to the Trump administration, the Western Hemisphere would be at the epicenter of the entire US foreign policy effort. The intervention of foreign powers and the growing narco-terrorism in the American neighborhood are the prime national security concerns for the United States.
2. The Indo-Pacific region would be the second priority of the Trump administration. A free and open Indo-Pacific is vital for the preservation of the US national interest. The hawkish and assertive attitude of hostile nations in the region is a serious threat to the American economic interests.
3. The Trump administration stands with its European counterparts, but that doesn’t mean America alone. Europe must take greater responsibility for their problems. The ever-increasing domestic instability and the prolonged conflict in Russia are prime threats to European civilization and culture. A stable relationship with Russia has become a necessity for Europe to halt its decline.
4. The Middle East is not considered a prime focus of American foreign policy. The Trump administration would try its best to eliminate the threat of regional terrorism and foreign powers’ intervention. However, the US would not intervene in the regional wars at the expense of the American economy.
5. The Trump administration will strive for maintaining US values and standards in the realm of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum computing. The promotion of a tech world based on the American model is vital to American national interests.
New American Foreign Policy: End of Liberal World Order
Under its new national security strategy, the US is now pursuing bilateralism as its core foreign policy outlook. The Trump administration, neglecting the traditional US approach, is now entering into the ‘pole centric’ approach to pursue its international relations. According to this approach, every state is a pole with which the US can deal bilaterally without forming large multilateral frameworks. Remember that this is the same approach that China has long pursued for its peaceful economic rise. Through this approach, the Trump administration has explicitly negated the concept of global power competition and reinforced the notion of spheres of influence. According to this strategy, every regional hegemon has the right to secure its neighborhood and maneuver accordingly. The primary concern of the Trump administration is to liberate its sphere of influence from foreign interventions. This strategy strengthens the Monroe Doctrine, i.e., the exclusion of foreign competitors, the elimination of drug cartels, border protection, and the strengthening of relationships in Latin America in the Western Hemisphere. In the case of Asia, the USA needs to address the economic control of China, supply chains, and collaborate with India via the QUAD in order to maintain the stability of the Indo-Pacific. And, on behalf of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, reduce the United States’ dominance, cease to get entangled in interminable wars, and compel allies to take their own security.
Perils and Pitfalls: Navigating the Implications
This new national security strategy undermines the United States’ influence in Europe, which has long been its primary focus in security and the economy. Declaring Europe to be at the brink of ‘civilizational erasure’, this strategy harms NATO cohesion and the US position in the region. Stating Europe as the third priority after the Western Hemisphere and the Indo-Pacific, the plan has further alarmed European leaders and prompted calls for greater European defense independence.
Nevada Joan Lee, a research associate with the Reimagining US Grand Strategy Program, writes that the NSS portends a desire by Washington that the European economies expand, the European governments increase their expenditure on military, and that the migration to Europe should decrease. It cannot have all three simultaneously. The White House seems to be intent on re-establishing the transatlantic relationship on ethno-nationalist platforms by concentrating on the so-called erasure of civilization. By so doing, the White House would lose its chance of achieving the long-term and sustainable change of transatlantic trade and military relations.
This strategy explicitly unveils an end to the deep-rooted American support for the liberal world order. The United States is now pursuing a policy of unilateralism where the preservation of American national interest would be the prime responsibility of the Trump administration. The democratic, rules-based order is no longer viable and suitable for the changing geopolitical rules-based order. Michael O’Hanlon, the director of research in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, observed that failure to give due attention to rules-based international order or international law weakens the pillars of American power and only weakens and does not reinforce America First.
Moreover, the strategy ignored the long-term strategic matters of concern and prioritized the bilateral deals, focusing on narrow American interests. The attack on Europe’s civilizational status is not only a wake-up call for the Europeans but also for their Asian counterparts. This strategy has further increased the notion of the US unreliability for its partners. Michael Beckley, who is the Head of Research in the Asia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, argues that this NSS is directed inwards to hemispheric enforcement and deals that seek profits, and outwards primarily to punish or humiliate old friends. It harms American interests in terms of allies, technology, and money.
Conclusion
The introduction of the Trump administration’s national security strategy is an inflection point for world politics. The Trump administration is trying to reshape the geopolitical dynamics so that America remains the world’s sole superpower in the era of a new world order. This strategy is a model of the re-adjustment of US foreign policy to modify the emerging global realities in such a way that they best suit the US national interest. However, this strategy also brings a pack of negative consequences, which could destabilize the international order and the US influence throughout the world. The successive administrations, either democrats or republicans, would now have to pursue the policy of a tighter economic security with partners and allies in the near future.
Aleena Im – is an independent researcher and writer and is interested in international relations and current affairs
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