How Trump is leading a revolution in US foreign policy and what it means

US President Donald Trump’s second administration is barely four months old, but already there are signs of an emerging foreign policy doctrine.

The Monroe, Truman, Carter and George W. Bush doctrines had one thing in common: they signal to multiple audiences critical US interests and what the US is prepared to do to advance them.

Doctrines are intended to reassure friends and allies, deter actual or would-be enemies, galvanize the bureaucracy tasked with national security matters, and educate the public.

Read more about the emerging Trump foreign policy doctrine in the article by Richard Haass, a senior counselor at Centerview Partners: The Trump doctrine: what principle is becoming central in US foreign policy?

You could call Donald Trump’s doctrine the "look the other way" doctrine, the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" doctrine, or the "none of our business" doctrine.

Whatever the label, the doctrine signals that the US will no longer try to influence or react to how countries conduct themselves within their borders.

The closest there was to a public articulation of the new doctrine came in Saudi Arabia on May 13.

"In recent years, far too many American presidents have been afflicted with the notion that it’s our job to look into the souls of foreign leaders and use US policy to dispense justice for their sins," Trump emphasized.

Trump’s actions, above all his pursuit of business deals with authoritarian governments in the Gulf and far beyond, underscore these words’ import.

Unlike Reagan, Carter, Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, Trump has made it clear that the US has no interest in advocating for human rights and democracy, speaking out against authoritarian abuses, and pressing for the release of political dissidents.

The Trump Doctrine increases the odds that governments so inclined will double down on domestic repression and efforts to subvert democracy – a form of government often associated not just with greater personal freedom but also with free markets supported by the rule of law and less aggressive foreign policy.

Promoting democracy thus benefits US investors and limits the risk that America becomes mired in costly or prolonged foreign conflicts.  

The Trump Doctrine also distances the US from many of its traditional friends and allies, most of which, not coincidentally, happen to be democracies. Such estrangement works against American influence.

The Trump Doctrine has a self-serving, rightist bias. The thrust of the Trump Doctrine – not to allow anti-democratic behavior to get in the way of doing business – is clear.

For a long time, the US sought to change the world, annoying some and inspiring others. Those days are gone, in some ways for better, but mostly for worse.

The US has changed. It is coming to resemble many of the countries and governments it once criticized. It is as tragic as it is ironic.