🪴 Quartz 4.0

Search

SearchSearch

Assignment Trump Foreign Policy

Jan 07, 2024, 6 min read

Assignment: Trump Foreign Policy

Class: IS401 Created Time: October 24, 2021 1:14 PM Database: Assignment Database Last Edited Time: January 8, 2022 4:28 PM Provided Materials: IS401_Guide_to_Term_Paper__Presentation.pdf Resulting Materials: IS401-G5-Presentation.pdf, IS401-G6-Research-Paper.pdf, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R-yJORQaZ2uIoqrSsPLucb4Bwe34ze_XtoObUOVRAkg/edit# Status: Done Type: 📑🎙️

Group 5 Members

  1. Chea Resan
  2. Kou Solyta
  3. Hok Sovanrachana

Preparation

Topic: Trump’s Foreign Policy Approach: as compared to previous presidents

  • Background or Introduction (Chea Resan)
  • Framework and Method of Analysis (Chea Resan)
    • variables:
      • US presidents
        • what role they play in establishing FPs
      • Define trump’s FP approach: characteristics, features,
      • what is traditional FP approaches in the US
    • Method of analysis
      • Compare Trump’s approach to traditional republican:
        • Hypothesis 1: Trumpism vs non-Trump republicanism, Trump is a unusual phenomenon that doesn’t represent partisan divide and he was a Populist president 1
          • Use concept of Populism to describe Trump
          • Domestic Actor Theory: the change in leadership led the US to change it’s FP approach accordingly
      • Compare Trump and traditional US presidents’ FP
        • Hypothesis 2: Trump and Obama’s FP: both employed a specific type of retrenchment that could preserve at the same time, both American forces and their stand as an exceptional power in the eyes of the international community 2
    • Case studies
  • Literature Review (Chea Resan)
  • Research Impact
  1. To what extent does Trump’s Foreign Policy differ from US traditional foreign policy approaches? (Hok Sovanrachana) What is Trump’s Foreign Policy Approach?
    • Trump’s transition: different from republican
    • His foreign policy
    • Case studies in detail on an event (choose one)
      • Asia
      • Protectionism/isolationism
      • Trade War
      • Mexico border
  2. How does Trump differ in his approach to foreign policy in comparison to other presidents? (Kou Solyta)
    • Comparison between presidents’ Foreign Policy

Unused Research Questions

Topic: The Republican-Liberal party divide and how it affects the effectiveness of US Foreign Policy.

  • How does the polarization of governments and administration policy swings apply to other countries that have ineffective long term foreign policies?
  • What happens after Biden’s Administration?
  • Using Foreing Policy theories what can be explain about this phenomenon?
  • Find framework, indicator, variable to measure effectiveness of US FP
    • Can you prove how US parties are polarized
    • Domestic Actor Theory
    • The polarization was only applied to Trump, He’s not a normal republican
  1. Using Foreing Policy theories what can be explain about this phenomenon? 3
    • Domestic Actor Theory a change in which actors and/or institutions control the small state’s government leads to a change in foreign policy.
      • This change may occur because any or all of the following
        • A change in control of the government as different parties control key leadership positions (e.g. prime minister, president…)
        • A change in domestic institutions that lead to a change in the number of influence of veto players
        • A change in power of non-governmental actors to influence policy decisions (e.g. fl public opinion)
  2. How is polarization in the US political system is affecting its foreign policy?
    • Once the Soviet Union collapsed and left the United States at the pinnacle of power, the need for national unity declined and ambitious politicians had less need to show restraint in attacking their political rivals without worrying too much about weakening the country. It is no accident that presidents have come to rely more and more on executive agreements rather than formal, ratified treaties: It has become increasingly difficult to get the latter through a divided Congress. Of equal concern is the possibility that other states will be wary of making mutually beneficial agreements with the United States, simply because they have no way to be sure whether an agreement reached this year will survive the next election. 4
  3. Cases of this
    1. Obama to Trump switch:
      • Iran’s Nuclear Deal 5
        • Signed in 2015 by Iran and several world powers, including the United States, the JCPOA placed significant restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
        • President Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018, claiming it failed to curtail Iran’s missile program and regional influence. Iran began ignoring limitations on its nuclear program a year later.
        • Washington and Tehran have both said they would return to the original deal but they disagree on the steps to get there.

          • In 2021, President Joe Biden said the United States will return to the deal if Iran comes back into compliance, though Iran’s leaders have insisted that Washington lift sanctions first.

      “What’s been happening is not that the administration is undoing President Obama’s legacy; it’s undoing American leadership on the international stage.” - Former US National Security Adviser 6

      • Obama’s focus on Asia-Pacific: pivot to asia
    2. Trump’s decisions: leaving WHO, isolating from the international community 7
      • Exception: Biden supported Trump in: keeping protectionism/Trade-War against China, US withdrawal out of War in Afghanistan
      • What is left to change in Trump’s foreign policy to Biden’s?
    3. What will be continue from Trump to Biden administrative 8
      • In principle, Biden’s agenda is rooted in a repudiation of Trump’s “America First” legacy and the restoration of the multilateral order. 9
      • “Buy american” policies : continue the support on medicine and medical supplies from domestic manufacturers
      • Focus on china : putin on concessions on china state subsidies
      • What has been done?
        • followed through on Trump’s deal to withdraw from Afghanistan 9
        • Continue extension of new START treaty with Russia
        • Rejoin the Obama nuclear deal in Iran

References

  • Possible topics on Foreign Policy

    1. US turning to protectionism or US first policy or tension against China, US dropping WHO

    2. US and UK dealings of nuclear powered submarines with Australia

    3. From the Trump’s protectionism foreing policy to Biden’s Trade Enforcement Actions

  • Research Questions

    • How does the extreme gap between the Republican and Liberal party and their alternating power hold affect US foreign policies’ effectiveness?
      • A republican president comes in to put in divisive policy just for a liberal president to come in later to revert those changes

Footnotes

  1. Globalization and Populism ↩

  2. CHANGES IN THE AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY: FROM OBAMA TO TRUMP BY Oana-Elena BRÂNDA ↩

  3. Levels of Analysis of Foreign Policy ↩

  4.   America’s Polarization Is a Foreign Policy Problem, Too ↩

  5. What Is the Iran Nuclear Deal? ↩

  6. The Obama-Trump foreign policy ↩

  7. Biden’s foreign policy: Reverse the Trump agenda but hit one similar note ↩

  8. What Biden Will Do: 23 Policy Plays to Expect From the Next Administration ↩

  9. U.S. Foreign Policy Under Biden ↩ ↩2

Graph View

Backlinks

  • No backlinks found