IR Theorists\u2026 get to know your inner business self;Trump has rewritten the rules of the game.<\/p>\n
Theories have been developed to aid one make sense of uncertain events. Indeed, a new academic discipline of international relations was created after WWI to explain and understand the relations between states.\u00a0 These theories, however, are struggling to make sense of the new U.S. President and his sometimes rash decisions.<\/p>\n
If Trump were simply a hawkish Realist president, we could predict he would support conflicts that are only to secure the continued existence of the US and engage in conflicts only when state survival was threatened.\u00a0 He would expect Canada to be a good ally, ensure Canada was not a weak link and backfill where necessary to give the US the freedom to roam and dominate any peer competitors.<\/p>\n
Instead, he is creating security dilemmas for both US allies and competitors by advocating for South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia to have nuclear weapons, opening the door to war with Iraq for more oil (when US is awash with gas and oil) and sending mixed signals to NATO at a time when potential competitors are looking to expand their sphere of influence.<\/p>\n
If Trump was a Liberal in the IR sense, he would try and shore up some of the most lucrative markets with the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement, especially one that keeps out China out of the agreement – the 2nd<\/sup> largest economy in the world.\u00a0 If a Liberal, he would promote collective security and respect well-established international laws that ban, for example, torture and promote the protection of refugees. \u00a0\u00a0But clearly, interdependence and promotion of the democratic liberal order is not a priority at this time.<\/p>\n And I think it is safe to assume that Trump does not subscribe to Feminist or other Reflective theories except insofar as these theories do consider the actions of individuals and Trump is all about relationships.<\/p>\n Since the discipline of IR is now in a state of shock and seeking therapy, what guide do we have in which make sense of U.S. foreign and defence policy?\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0I suggest now is the time for IR theorists to partner with business theorists and appreciate their models on the art of the deal.\u00a0 Interdisciplinary thinking will be essential.<\/p>\n Andrea Charron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" IR Theorists\u2026 get to know your inner business self;Trump has rewritten the rules of the game. Theories have been developed to aid one make sense of uncertain events. Indeed, a new academic discipline of international relations was created after WWI to explain and understand the relations between states.\u00a0 These theories, however, are struggling to make […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n