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Regular readers of my work know that I have been closely watching America’s foreign policy during Trump’s second term. While others saw incoherence or contradictions – destroying drug boats in the Caribbean but not those of the Houthi’s in the Red Sea, pulling back from much of the world while getting more engaged in South America, moving on from the War of Terror while still using its doctrines, tactics, and legal justifications – I have repeatedly argued that these seemingly disconnected actions are the output of a coherent policy.
Many also still believe in the false dichotomy of an isolationist versus interventionist approach to foreign policy. This framing confounds useful analysis. A more useful consideration, I believe, is not whether or not to intervene, but rather where, if at all, intervention might make sense. Thinking on these terms helps make sense of what on first glance seems like inconsistent policy. So where does the White House think America should be willing to intervene to protect our interests? The answer is simple: The Western Hemisphere.
Recent news confirms that the Trump Administration is worrying less about Chinese and Russian influence in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia and more about their operations in our backyard. Think of the approach as the second incarnation of the Monroe Doctrine, a modern day version of the foreign policy framework that guided America during the early years of our republic. This is why we are seeing a massive military build-up off the coast of South America and not in Eastern Europe, and why many military analysts question whether the US would put American lives at risk to defend a small island off the coast of China.
This past week the Trump Administration released the “National Security Strategy of the United States of America,” a policy document that confirms much of this thinking. In fact, it proclaims a “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine, which clearly states that “The United States must be preeminent in the Western Hemisphere as a condition of our security and prosperity — a condition that allows us to assert ourselves confidently where and when we need to in the region.” Trump is telegraphing to the entire world that America will have a strong military presence in ...
