Some foreign policy guidelines for the incoming administration as it prepares for a world that has become more competitive and less susceptible to U.S. influence.
With Donald Trump's victory, Republicans are set to reassume the reins of U.S. foreign policy after an absence of eight years. Precisely what a new GOP foreign policy will look like will depend foremost on the preferences of the president-elect, but obviously it should take account of the concerns of voters and the realities abroad. U.S. global leadership remains indispensable, both for American interests and for the world, but must be tailored to a geopolitical landscape that has shifted since Republicans were last in power.
What fueled voters' support for Trump was in part their worry that the world is changing in alarming ways. Polls showed that for Republican voters, the most important issues besides the economy were terrorism and foreign policy -- issues pertaining to America's relationship with the world. Americans are right to be concerned. The world is becoming more competitive and less susceptible to our influence. Compared with the uniquely favorable post-Cold War "unipolar moment" of the 1990s and 2000s, this new era is likely to be more dangerous, disorderly, and contentious...
Read the full version on the National Review website. This article also appears in the magazine's December 5, 2016, print edition.
National Review