U.S. Foreign Policy in Turmoil: Trump 2.0 and the Strains on U.S. International Leadership

Abstract

The return of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency in 2025 has intensified debates about the coherence, credibility, and direction of American foreign policy. Early decisions and diplomatic initiatives under Trump 2.0, most visibly in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, have exposed tensions between campaign promises, executive-driven diplomacy, alliance politics, and the structural constraints of international order. This panel examines how U.S. foreign policy has entered a period of turbulence marked by transactional leadership, shifting approaches to alliances, and contested notions of international responsibility. While the war in Ukraine serves as a central stress test for U.S. international leadership, the panel also explores broader implications for transatlantic relations, Indo-Pacific partnerships, crisis diplomacy, and adversary perceptions of American power. Bringing together insights from international relations theory, foreign policy analysis, and security studies, the panel assesses whether the strains observed under Trump 2.0 represent a temporary disruption or a deeper transformation of U.S. global leadership.

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