Does Trump Have a Strategy?

Both of Donald Trump’s presidential administrations have prompted sharp debates about the direction of U.S. foreign policy. But how to discern a strategic logic behind Washington’s approach, and whether it’s even possible to do so, have been particularly vexing questions since Trump returned to the White House.

Read more Orban’s Fall and Europe’s Rise

A. Wess Mitchell helped shape these debates as assistant secretary of state in Trump’s first term, and he has been uniquely interested in shedding light on them since, including in a number of essays for Foreign Affairs. Dan Kurtz-Phelan spoke to Mitchell on Monday, May 18, about how he understands the strategy driving Trump’s second-term foreign policy, and where, after Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping and with wars in Iran and Ukraine far from settled, he thinks that strategy should go from here.

Read more Why Mexico’s Cartels Are So Hard to Defeat

Sources:

“A Grand Strategy of Consolidation” by A. Wess Mitchell

“The Return of Great-Power Diplomacy” by A. Wess Mitchell

“The Age of Great-Power Competition” by Elbridge A. Colby and A. Wess Mitchell

“Trump, Putin, and Genghis Khan: A Conversation With Fiona Hill”

This episode of The Foreign Affairs Interview was produced by Ben Metzner and Kanishk Tharoor, with audio engineering by Christopher Koch and original music by Robin Hilton. Special thanks to Irina Hogan.

Read more The Not-So-Quiet American