Although US President Donald Trump has only been back in the White House for barely a few months, he has already dramatically impacted international politics. His approach to the Ukraine war, Europe, Gaza and global trade has severely shaken global assumptions about the US among allies, rivals and investors.
To Trump and his supporters, these actions will strengthen America's global position. Critics, however, argue that the opposite is true. Though the second Trump presidency remains in its infancy, might it have already made huge geopolitical strategic errors that will weaken the US in the long run?
In tennis and other sports, ‘unforced errors’ come from a player’s mistakes rather than their opponents’ efforts. The same is true in geopolitics, and history is full of examples whereby governments make poor decisions on their own, which lead to major setbacks and even disaster.
The US has its fair share of such errors. Most recently, it was the invasion of Iraq in 2003. While the 9/11 attacks of 2001 required some response, attacking the Taliban for hosting Al-Qaeda would have sufficed. By now, most historians agree that targeting Saddam Hussein was a mistake—a war of choice rather than necessity. It ultimately weakened America's position in the Middle East by exposing the limits of its military power and providing a platform for both Iran and Al-Qaeda (separately) to expand and thrive.
Moreover, by directing its resources to the Middle East during the 2000s, US policymakers were not adequately paying attention to the rise of China. While the US entered Iraq as the undisputed global hegemon, a decade later, the war had contributed to the emergence of a multipolar world and a decline in US dominance.
