In other words, Donald Trump’s approach is a modern take on the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, which aimed to keep European powers out of the Western Hemisphere. Trump’s policy focuses on asserting U.S. dominance and preventing China and Russia from gaining influence in the region. This includes his calls for annexing Greenland, controlling the Panama Canal, and making Canada the fifty-first state.

Trump would be more effective in initiating behind-the-scenes talks with the Danish and Greenland governments for basing rights and other agreements limiting Chinese investment. But that is not enough. Trump wants to intimidate, not act like an ally. Trump’s short-sighted strategy is rooted in “America First” and a fear of U.S. decline, caring little for smaller allies. Theodore Roosevelt, no less of a showman, nevertheless, preferred to “speak softly and carry a big stick.” Trump focuses on economic nationalism, trade protectionism, and unilateral foreign policy and loudly emphasizes economic policies to maintain America’s dominance. Trump’s approach signals a return to mercantilist, “I win, you lose” politics, joining America’s adversaries Russia and China in shutting the door to internationalist perspectives and universal rules.

Mathew Burrows is a Counselor in the Executive Office of the Stimson Center and the Program Lead of its Strategic Foresight Hub. We worked for twenty-eight years in the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the last 10 years of which he spent at the National Intelligence Council (NIC), the premier analytic unit in the U.S. Intelligence Community.

Josef Braml is the European Director of the Trilateral Commission. From 2006 to 2020, he worked at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) as Managing Editor and Editor of the International Policy Yearbook and Head of the Americas Programme.

Both are authors of the forthcoming book World To Come: The Return of Trump And The End Of The Old Order.

Image: Shutterstock.com.