At a crossroads: the future of U.S. foreign policy at “Great Decisions”
Karli Strom - Editor in Chief
“We are at a turning point in more than one way. The world is changing, and the United States is renegotiating its position in the world,” said Professor Jessica Vivian. At the 45th annual “Great Decisions” lecture series, Vivian discussed the state of the United States and their foreign relations since the inauguration of President Trump.
Since January 20, Trump’s administration has taken a controversial approach to their foreign relations and interpretation of the importance of state sovereignty. The administration has made statements about U.S. expansion like annexing Canada as the 51st state, purchasing or taking Greenland by military force, and capturing the Panama Canal.
“What I would say we need to look at is a period in history where we did not have those norms,” said Vivian. “What those areas were marked by pretty much constant war or the threat of war.”
International norms like territorial integrity, prohibition of aggression, non-intervention into other states were established to create peace after World War II. If other countries perceive the United States as threatening to violate these norms, that can change the known international system.
"It’s a lot cheaper to stop wars than it is to fight them,” said Vivian. “So, if we can avoid instability, escalation of conflicts, in the long run this keeps the United States safer for less money.”
Recent changes to domestic institutions from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have left people questioning what possible threats this could pose to the United States national security.
“Good news is, at the moment, in the short-term we’re not looking at anything very urgent,” said Vivian. “Bad news is that we are setting ourselves up to be much more vulnerable in the future.”
DOGE has access to fifteen federal agencies including the Department of Defense, the Treasury, and Internal Revenue Services (IRS). An influx of new DOGE employees in critical sectors of the federal government creates more opportunities for international security threats to go unnoticed because of a lack of expertise in the area.
“We can get by, for a period of time, with a national security apparatus that has been gutted, but we will have no resilience when new threats arise,” said Vivian.
Regardless of how the Trump administration continues to communicate with foreign allies and enemies, the United States’ position in the international system will change.
“With a second Trump administration, the world will look at existing international institutions as being forever changed,” said Vivian.
The next “Great Decisions” lecture will feature Professor Petra Kuppinger discussing the US and the Middle East on February 26 in CSB 276.