Document Type

Student Research Paper

Date

Spring 2020

Academic Department

Politics, Philosophy, and Legal Studies

Faculty Advisor(s)

Oya Ozkanca

Abstract

President Donald Trump has redefined America’s foreign policy around his mantra, “America First.” This has led to attempts at renegotiating international treaties and reversing American Foreign policy toward inter-governmental organizations (IGOs). His actions, specifically on security policy issues including Iran and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), have led to multiple short-term as well as potential long-term consequences. These include a level of uncertainty surrounding President Trump’s meaning of “America First” and a difficulty in understanding and/or anticipating his actions and intentions due to the lack of a clear foreign policy direction. Additionally, Trump’s actions have led to a substantial increase in tensions between the US and Iran, which has already caused multiple casualties. This paper aims to address the following questions: What does this mean for the United States? How are foreign leaders perceiving these changes made by the Trump Administration, and how does it help or hurt US interests abroad? Ultimately, Trump has approached foreign policy with his Realist mindset, causing him to question multilateralism and even bilateralism. His tendency to withdraw or threaten to withdraw from agreements and treaties has caused panic and fear amongst our allies who are unsure of the American commitment and has contributed to a lack of trust in America.

Notes

Senior thesis.

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