EP 384 The Empty Throne Grows Dusty as America Sidelines Itself on the International Stage
The rules-based world order that developed after World War II was not an accident of history. It resulted from America’s vigorous leadership. So for our allies in Europe, Asia and around the globe is was so puzzling that President Donald Trump would walk away from treaties and organizations America designed. While he blustered about America’s being taken for granted by our friends during the 2016 election, many felt that his early picks for Cabinet positions demonstrated that the notion of America alone was all talk. That was until he pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Paris climate accords, the Iran nuclear deal and recently his disputes with allies regarding the World Health Organization and how to handle the pandemic. A recent Politico headline screamed ‘Trump’s Europe Strategy: Nothing’. Ivo Daalder, who served as U.S. Ambassador to NATO under President Obama and co-author of ‘The Empty Throne’, along with James M. Lindsay, joins us to discuss what that vacuum means, who is trying to fill it and whether America can re-claim the mantle of the world’s most indispensable nation. And, if so, what lessons must we learn from overreach on America’s part after the end of the Cold War.
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