Preorder from Amazon.com As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump broke not only from the Republican Party but also from the bipartisan consensus on the direction of recent U.S. foreign policy. Calling the Iraq war a terrible mistake and lamenting America’s nation building expeditions, Trump evinced little interest in maintaining the traditional form of American leadership of […]
Author Archives: Trevor Thrall
War with Iran?
Mines, downed drones, and one *almost* retaliation. The question on everyone’s mind is: Will there be war? Though the risk is not zero, the smart bet – for now – is that there will not be war. Read here for my take on what is making war more or less likely.
The Clash of Generations?
I am happy to announce the publication of a new report I recently coauthored with colleagues from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Charles Koch Institute. The report is “The Clash of Generations? Intergenerational Change and American Foreign Policy Views.” Here is a short overview: Since World War II the United States has […]
Arms Sales: Pouring Gas on the Fire
Do arms sales cause war? Or do wars cause arms sales? Critics of arms sales often argue that selling weapons abroad fuels conflict. And indeed, one can point to one or more sides using American weapons in many recent conflicts including Syria, Yemen, and Iraq. Skeptics argue, on the other hand, that weapons don’t start the fire and […]
A New Framework for Assessing the Risks from U.S. Arms Sales
In the past two years, Congress has tried (and failed) twice to halt American arms sales to Saudi Arabia in response to that country’s intervention in Yemen’s civil war. This level of concern is historically unusual. Arms sales rarely spur much debate in Washington, where they are viewed as a critical tool of American foreign policy. The […]
Time for Diplomacy, Not War, in Yemen
On Wednesday June 13 the Saudi-led military coalition launched an assault to seize Hodeidah, the site of Yemen’s main port. The port, currently held by Houthi fighters, is the primary channel through which humanitarian aid reaches millions of at-risk Yemenis, who have suffered from four long years of civil war. The war has already taken a huge […]
America First Coming Soon?
Although President Trump may lack a coherent strategic vision for international affairs, his general disinterest in the rest of the world and his strong feelings about “getting a good deal” have led him to propose, on repeated occasions, the withdrawal of American troops from abroad. The puzzling question is that if Trump’s feelings on this […]
U.S. Grand Strategy and the Case for Restraint
I’m excited to announce the publication of U.S. Grand Strategy in the 21st Century: The Case for Restraint. The edited volume is an effort to assemble a more complete “brief” of the grand strategy of restraint, a vision for U.S. foreign policy that has been gaining steam over the past decade but remains under-appreciated and […]
The Trump Doctrine and Public Opinion at One Year
Donald Trump’s America First rhetoric during the 2016 presidential campaign marked a sharp departure from the fundamental tenets of liberal internationalism that have guided U.S. foreign policy since World War II. Trump’s tirades against free trade, NATO allies, immigrants (legal and otherwise), and his general disinterest in engaging with the world unless there was money […]
America’s Foreign Policy Attention Deficit
We Washingtonians rightly get criticized for being hyper focused on politics. While D.C. natives gossip about the ups and downs of the powerful elite, most Americans are worrying about their marriages and mortgages. The disjuncture is even greater when it comes to foreign policy, an area in which public interest and knowledge are particularly limited. […]
