US National Security Strategy: New Concerns about Isolationism
President Donald Trump's second administration has officially released its National Security Strategy. The contents of the document further intensify the “America First” doctrine, and one cannot help but feel apprehensive about what is effectively a declaration of departure from the cooperative structure that has been the basis of the postwar international order.
The U.S. NSS is established each time a presidential administration takes office, and even though the U.S.' traditional diplomatic policy, which emphasized relations with allied nations, remained in effect for the first Trump administration's NSS, in this second administration, the NSS reflects Trump's true intentions.
The biggest distinction is the approach of the “Trump Corollary,” a complement to the isolationist 19th-century “Monroe Doctrine,” which demanded mutual nonintervention between Europe and the U.S. The corollary emphasizes border control and stability in the Western Hemisphere (North and South America), in order to protect against immigration and the influx of narcotics into the U.S.
Already, the Trump administration has detained a large number of immigrants [in the U.S. illegally] and deported them to South America. In the Caribbean Sea in Central America, Trump has attacked ships on suspicion that they are “drug boats.” Because the legality of these actions is questionable, he is probably using that reasoning as justification.
This new Monroe Doctrine that discourages concern for other regions and restricts allied relationships to the extent that they suit the needs of the U.S., is apparent at every turn in the NSS.
Dissatisfaction with allied nations “free-riding” on the U.S. for national security is obvious, with calls for allies to increase their defense spending and take responsibility for their own national security.
There is a distancing in the NSS from that of the administration of former President Joe Biden, which supported an “integrated deterrence” that emphasized cooperation with allies and promoted deterrence. A written expression of a value-oriented diplomacy of democracy versus despotism has also disappeared. It is difficult to understand the call to “reestablish strategic stability with Russia,” which continues its invasion of Ukraine.
Use of the evaluation criteria of benefit to U.S. economic security is also no exception in prioritizing U.S. interests. On the one hand, China is ranked as its largest competitor, but the U.S. justifies the strategic use of tariffs and imposes heavy tariffs on Japan and many other friendly allied nations.
Protectionism that favors one nation's own interests deepens international division and was a factor leading up to World War II. Trump and the U.S. citizens themselves should certainly prepare themselves for the heavy toll that the self-centered choices of a superpower will incur.
The U.S. NSS is established each time a presidential administration takes office, and even though the U.S.' traditional diplomatic policy, which emphasized relations with allied nations, remained in effect for the first Trump administration's NSS, in this second administration, the NSS reflects Trump's true intentions.
The biggest distinction is the approach of the “Trump Corollary,” a complement to the isolationist 19th-century “Monroe Doctrine,” which demanded mutual nonintervention between Europe and the U.S. The corollary emphasizes border control and stability in the Western Hemisphere (North and South America), in order to protect against immigration and the influx of narcotics into the U.S.
Already, the Trump administration has detained a large number of immigrants [in the U.S. illegally] and deported them to South America. In the Caribbean Sea in Central America, Trump has attacked ships on suspicion that they are “drug boats.” Because the legality of these actions is questionable, he is probably using that reasoning as justification.
This new Monroe Doctrine that discourages concern for other regions and restricts allied relationships to the extent that they suit the needs of the U.S., is apparent at every turn in the NSS.
Dissatisfaction with allied nations “free-riding” on the U.S. for national security is obvious, with calls for allies to increase their defense spending and take responsibility for their own national security.
There is a distancing in the NSS from that of the administration of former President Joe Biden, which supported an “integrated deterrence” that emphasized cooperation with allies and promoted deterrence. A written expression of a value-oriented diplomacy of democracy versus despotism has also disappeared. It is difficult to understand the call to “reestablish strategic stability with Russia,” which continues its invasion of Ukraine.
Use of the evaluation criteria of benefit to U.S. economic security is also no exception in prioritizing U.S. interests. On the one hand, China is ranked as its largest competitor, but the U.S. justifies the strategic use of tariffs and imposes heavy tariffs on Japan and many other friendly allied nations.
Protectionism that favors one nation's own interests deepens international division and was a factor leading up to World War II. Trump and the U.S. citizens themselves should certainly prepare themselves for the heavy toll that the self-centered choices of a superpower will incur.
Previous article![]( "Trump’s Anti-Europe Doctrine")