How the World Can Prepare for Trump 2.0

As the U.S. election looms, policymakers and analysts are trying to game out what a possible second term for former President Donald Trump might mean for Washington’s foreign policy—and, by extension, for U.S. allies, multilateral organizations, and global security.

As the U.S. election looms, policymakers and analysts are trying to game out what a possible second term for former President Donald Trump might mean for Washington’s foreign policy—and, by extension, for U.S. allies, multilateral organizations, and global security.

This edition of Flash Points considers how Trump’s unconventional approach to foreign policy could reshape the international order and affect major geopolitical issues, from the war in Ukraine to rising U.S.-China tensions. The following essays offer insight into what institutions, alliances, and governments from Europe to Asia can do to prepare for another Trump White House.

Why Asia Should Sound the Trump Alarm

The calm in Asian capitals reflects a dangerous misjudgment, FP’s James Crabtree writes.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks to journalists at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 16.Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

How Europe Can Prepare for a Second Trump Term—Now

The continent must bolster its own defense capabilities before an isolationist ringleader returns to the White House, Doug Klain and James Batchik write.

Then-U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press prior to departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 23, 2020.Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

There’s Nothing Between an Unstable President and the Nuclear Button

It’s past time to put legal guardrails in place to prevent catastrophe, Adam Mount writes.

G-7 leaders arrive for a photo at the Itsukushima Shrine during the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan on May 19, 2023.Stefan Rousseau – Pool/Getty Images

The G-7 Must Prepare Now for Trump

This summer’s summit needs to be much more than just a 50th anniversary celebration, Robin Niblett writes.

An activist prepares a balloon painted to look like planet Earth and decorated with orange hair and eyebrows in the likeness of U.S. President Donald Trump during a climate protest prior to a meeting of European Union leaders at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on June 29, 2017. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

How a Second Trump Term Will Redefine Foreign Aid

A Heritage Foundation report offers a roadmap of sweeping changes, Laura Thornton writes.