TRUMPISM, HISTORY, AND THE FUTURE OF US FOREIGN RELATIONS

Trying to make critical sense of the current state of foreign affairs is treacherous business for anyone, but even more so for historians, who command no specialized skills for analyzing the present. Although access to the past, where historians are in their natural element, is always limited to some degree, decoding contemporary events is like trying to see through a blinding sandstorm. Factional feuds between nationalists and globalists, revolving door staff changes, and sudden policy reversals, not to mention unanticipated crises and impulsive presidential outbursts—all hallmarks of the Trump administration—make attempts at evaluation even more uncertain. Although much