U.S. Foreign Policy Today – The End ofthe Transatlantic Alliance?
After 1945, the United States became the principal architect of a liberal international order based on open markets, strategic alliances with the democracies of Europe and Asia, international cooperation,and the inviolability of postwar borders. Maintaining this international order was the consensus of US foreign policy for 70 years, but that consensus has faded, especially with the return of Donald Trump to the White House.
This seminar will explore the postwar consensus and the reason why it has faded in the United States, as well as the consequences of Trump’s return to the White House for Europe and the rest of the world. Political cartoons and satirical videos will provide some comic relief among the often grim topics.
Key Issues in American Foreign Policy – From George Washington to „America First“ and Beyond
This talk examines America’s evolving role in the world from its early days to the present: George Washington’s Farewell Address and the Monroe Doctrine, US involvement in the World Wars, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. Finally, we will take a look at the present era starting with the 1990s “New World Order” and the post-9/11 “War on Terror” all the way to Trump’s “America First” slogan. Given the relative decline of American wealth, power, and respect in recent decades, the question today is: what lies beyond American global hegemony and what does it mean for the transatlantic relationship? As usual, political cartoons and satirical videos will help liven up the serious issues at hand.
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