ROSH HASHANAH EDITION 5781 SECTION A PAGE 2
For my graduate degree I studied international relations, and one term that often comes up in that field is “doctrine.”
In the US it started with the Monroe Doctrine back in 1823, but the term seems to have gained popularity in post-WW II US foreign policy. The Truman Doctrine established that the US would provide support to forces fighting authoritarianism. The Eisenhower Doctrine focused specifically on supporting anti-communists. More recently the Bush Doctrine emphasized preemptive action.
Were Trump’s presidency normative, we’d probably all be applauding the success of the Trump Doctrine, which posits economic cooperation as conflict resolution. In just the last month he’s seen success between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Israel and Bahrain, and Kosovo and Serbia, between whom the enmity is far deeper and historic than anything between Israelis and Gulf states.
But Trump’s presidency is not normative. It is a presidency that stepped into a divided nation and, instead of creating unity, sowed yet deeper divisiveness.
Yet Trump’s foreign policy successes make me wonder: Could he have been a good president these past three years? I agree with his doctrine. Economic prosperity has been a force overwhelmingly for good in the world and has overcome conflicts steeped in centuries of hate. In Northern Ireland, for example, no matter how much Loyalists (Protestants) and Nationalists (Catholics) dislike each other, no one’s going back to the dark, depressing days of zero economic prospects coupled with random, deadly violence.
To a degree, Trump followed that doctrine in his domestic policy. The economy was improving and he’s supported policies that lower prescription drug prices. He’s also backed many of the interventions to support Americans economically during the pandemic.
But Trump’s worst enemy is himself. A smarter person may have been more pragmatic. Instead Trump seemed to embrace his liabilities — his playing fast and loose with the truth and his incendiary language, just to name two. Was it narcissism? Stupidity? Is he simply not a good guy?
Trump’s recent foreign policy successes hint at what could have been, and thus make it all the more tragic that it’s not.
Shana Goldberg may be reached at shana@ijn.com
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