The Internationalism

Internationalism No. 86, April 2026 Page 11 From the series Chronicles of the new American nationalism Donald Trump has plunged Atlantic relations into crisis and launched military operations in Africa, Venezuela, and the Middle East, culminating in the war against Iran. In Congress, a dozen Republicans have criticised these actions. The GOP rebellion is limited in scope and has various internal factions; but it is significant that the party leaders, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, have distanced themselves from some of Donald Trump’s positions. The Atlanticist faction Johnson and Thune have dismissed Trump’s threats against Greenland – a territory included in NATO via Denmark and the EU – as unrealistic. For Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, they are weapons-grade stupid , while Mitch McConnell, Thune’s predecessor, ...

Internationalism No. 84, February 2026 Page 12 From the series Chronicles of the new American nationalism The Supreme Court has been asked to rule on the emergency powers used by President Donald Trump to advance two key policies of his mandate: the decision to deploy the National Guard on American soil in support of his immigration policy, and the imposition of tariffs on almost every trading partner. In December, the Court issued a ruling which was unfavourable to the administration regarding the deployment of the National Guard in Illinois. At the time of writing, a ruling is expected that could declare the Liberation Day tariffs illegal. In addition, the Court is examining the dismissal of Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board. Scepticism among judges The White House imposed the reciprocal tariffs in April by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA, 1977), according to which the president...

Internationalism No. 83, January 2026 Page 12 From the series Chronicles of the new American nationalism The American establishment faces a truly difficult conundrum. On the one hand, it is confronted with Donald Trump, who has been gripped by show politics to the point of delirium: a recent tragic example was the president’s comments on social media about the murder of Rob Reiner and his wife, which he blamed on the director’s anti-Trump hatred. On the other hand, there is the attempt to uncover a rationale behind the policies of the Trump presidency, insofar as the measures aimed at countering American decline partially represent continuity with the lines of previous administrations, or with certain currents within them. In recent months, this second approach has been taken by Michael Froman, president of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and several Biden administration officials, including Kurt Campbell. In their view, there a...

Internationalism No. 82, December 2025 Page 10 From the series Chronicles of the new American nationalism Washington is redefining its commitments in Europe and the Middle East, while reaffirming its presence in the Western Hemisphere and coming to terms with China's rise in every theatre. Donald Trump has imposed tariffs and threatened adversaries and allies, gaining bargaining leverage without, for now, provoking the catastrophic outcomes predicted by critics. In nine months, he has achieved successes , acknowledges David Sanger of The New York Times , an opposition newspaper: many allies will spend more on defence and various regional conflicts have been defused, at least temporarily, including those in the Middle East. However, Trump's approach is erratic . Some commentators have tried to make the process intelligible, even to policymakers. Rival tribes In a widely cited 2022 essay, Jeremy Shapiro and Majda Ruge of the Eur...

Internationalism No. 81, November 2025 Page 13 From the series Chronicles of the new American nationalism With the slogan America First , Donald Trump evokes the past of American imperialism, more or less consciously recalling both the forces that, in the 1930s, advocated a foreign policy of hemispheric restraint and the era of undisputed American global primacy. He does so while bargaining with partners and adversaries alike over the degree of trade openness that the United States is willing to maintain, and while negotiating security guarantees with allies in Europe and Asia, without renouncing unilateral demonstrations of force in all directions. This aggressive posturing ranges from renaming the Pentagon the Department of War, to military operations against Iran and in Latin America, to increasing a military budget that is already by far the largest in the world. Kurt Campbell, co-founder of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), inspirer...

Internationalism No. 80, October 2025 Page 12 From the series Chronicles of the new American nationalism In the US Department of Defense led by Peter Hegseth, the undersecretary of defence for policy, Elbridge Colby, is in charge of revising the Pentagon’s defensive posture, which includes a different deployment of American troops and military resources abroad. It was Colby who stopped sending arms to Ukraine at the beginning of July, who put pressure on Japan to increase military spending, and who cast doubt on the commitment to supply Australia with the nuclear submarines, which is the primary feature of AUKUS – the defence and security partnership with the UK and Australia. His aim could be to pressure Tokyo and Canberra into playing a front-line role vis-à-vis China , as well as increasing their financial contribution to Washington. Many laughed at Donald Trump when he put television personalities in charge of important departments. The conservati...