As the administration of US President Donald Trump ends its first year, expect the unabashed disrupter to continue applying a wrecking ball to long-standing US national security architecture, threatening global stability and jolting long-time allies, with China a major beneficiary, say analysts and former government officials.
But even as Trump strives to bend global norms to his will, he is also acting, however roughshod, on an often unacknowledged reality, they add: America’s closest partners have not always carried their weight and Washington can no longer afford to do everything.
“The fact that allies spend more on their own defence is positive, but you have to acknowledge that the cost is that a lot of friends have less confidence that the US is a good partner,” said Zack Cooper, senior fellow with the conservative American Enterprise Institute. “It’s going to leave us increasingly isolated, and many in the Trump administration seem to feel that’s a price worth paying to avoid getting entangled.”
Expect Trump to continue focusing more on foreign affairs, to the dismay of some of his isolationist “America first” supporters, where he is less encumbered by political opposition or legal challenges he faces at home while acting on his imperious vision.
“It’s been a roller-coaster year,” said Mireya Solis, director of Asia policy at the Brookings Institution.
