Competitive, Competent, Conservative: Internationalism After Trump

Mar 8, 2021

Also published in Texas National Security Review
About the Authors
Michael Singh
Michael Singh

Michael Singh is the Managing Director and Lane-Swig Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute.

Articles & Testimony

It is unclear whether those who seek to carry on his foreign policy legacy will embrace wan realism, amoral nationalism, or a more successful conservative internationalism, but either way a clear-eyed evaluation of U.S. challenges and options is crucial.

As the Trump era comes to a close, the debate is just beginning over the administration’s approach to the world and what it means for the future of conservative foreign policy in the United States. President Donald Trump himself was better known for his provocative and unpredictable pronouncements than statements of doctrine. Yet, once Trump assumed office it did not take U.S. partners and allies long to realize that they faced something altogether new in Washington: that old assumptions about American policy had to be set aside, and any and all contingencies seriously considered. It was left to Trump officials and allies to impute to him a foreign policy philosophy, which they did variously. While no consensus doctrine emerges from these accounts, what comes across clearly is a sense of the conservative foreign policy pendulum in motion, its final destination to be determined...

To read the full essay, download the PDF above or visit the Texas National Security Review website.

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