U.S. foreign policy after World War II depended on bipartisan commitment to a rules-based international order. This order shaped U.S. relations with allied and other nations. It rejected acquisition of territory by force, emphasized free trade, and fostered these principles via international organizations and agreements. This bipartisan consensus has broken down. Over the last decade the United States has withdrawn from international organizations and agreements, favored acquiring territory by force, and embraced protectionist economics. Many U.S. officials are abandoning multilateralism in favor of bilateral diplomacy. What are the causes and implications of this fundamental foreign policy shift, for this administration and those to follow? Jeremy Pressman predicts a see-saw effect.
Jeremy Pressman is professor of political science and director of Middle East Studies at the University of Connecticut. He is also co-director of the Crowd Counting Consortium, a joint project of UConn and the Harvard Kennedy School. Pressman specializes in the Arab-Israeli conflict, U.S. foreign policy toward Israel-Palestine, and protests in the United States. He has written three books, including The Sword is Not Enough: Arabs, Israelis, and the Limits of Military Force (2020) and Warring Friends: Alliance Restraint in International Politics (2008). He is a former Fulbright fellow at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo.
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