WHAT DONALD TRUMP’S “PRINCIPLED REALISM” WOULD MEAN FOR TRANSATLANTIC UNITY

Donald Trump’s first foreign visit can be considered as a moment to finally provide some conceptual insight into his external policy. It has been wrapped as “principled realism”. So far, it seems to generate additional uncertainty, rather than make things more clear, especially in what oncerns the future of the transatlantic strategic partnership. Undermining mutual longterm commitments is always easier, while an alternative agenda would require additional efforts. It looks like the American-European relations are heading into a crisis, marked by a lack of trust and growing strategic differences over issues that for decades used to be on a joint agenda. This article provides an assessment of how American foreign policy based on “principled realism” can affect transatlantic ties.


Mykola Kapitonenko, PhD, is a Co-editor-in-chief at UA: Ukraine Analytica and an Associate Professor at the Institute of International Relations of Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University. He is also a Director to the Centre of International Studies, an NGO, specializing at regional security studies and foreign policy of Ukraine. He has also been invited as a visiting professor to the University of Iowa, and was teaching at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Mykola’s main research focus is in conflict studies and Ukrainian foreign policy. He has been managing a number of analytical projects, and he is an author of a textbook on international conflict studies, a monograph on power factor in international politics, and more than 60 articles on various foreign policy and security issues. Dr Kapitonenko had advised members of Parliament of Ukraine and Government on foreign policy issues and being a regular commenter on TV.


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