Shifrinson Publishes Article on Trump’s Foreign Policy
Joshua Shifrinson, Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, co-wrote a recent article on the Trump administration’s grand strategy — or lack thereof — for foreign policy.
Shifrinson’s article, entitled “Making Grand Strategy Grand Again,” was published in The National Interest on July 25, 2018. Shifrinson co-wrote the article with John Schuessler.
From the text of the article:
Does it matter if the Donald J. Trump administration—or any administration, for that matter—lacks a coherent vision for how the United States engages in the world? In a recent Snapshot for theForeign Affairs website, Ionut Popescu makes the case that it doesn’t, arguing “Trump Doesn’t Need a Grand Strategy.” In his view, critics who fault the president—or any leader, really—for lacking or pursuing the wrong grand strategy are off base. Instead, analysts, citizens and foreign actors should take comfort that one will emerge over time as the Trump administration (like others) feels its way forward “through improvisation, incrementalism, and adaptation to changing circumstances” rather than meticulous planning. As Popescu puts it, “emergent strategy” rather than “grand strategy” is the key to foreign policy success.
This view is wrong. To be sure, no approach to U.S. foreign policy can anticipate the myriad problems, crises and opportunities faced during an administration—in a narrow sense, any administration needs to respond to domestic and international conditions. Still, grand strategy remains central toguiding the overarching wayin which the United States engages with the world. Lacking such a vision in advance of coming to office is a recipe for drift, wasted effort, and missed victories. And, on this basis, Trumpian learning over time is not a panacea.
Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson’s teaching and research interests focus on the intersection of international security and diplomatic history, particularly the rise and fall of great powers and the origins of grand strategy. He has special expertise in great power politics since 1945 and U.S. engagement in Europe and Asia. Shifrinson’s first book, Rising Titans, Falling Giants: How Great Powers Exploit Power Shifts (Cornell University Press, 2018) builds on extensive archival research focused on U.S. and Soviet foreign policy after 1945 to explain why some rising states challenge and prey upon declining great powers, while others seek to support and cooperate with declining states.