Andrew Byers, a non-residential fellow with the Albritton Center for Grand Strategy at The Bush School of Government and Public Service, recently published an article with The American Conservative. Co-authored with Randall L. Schweller from Ohio State University’s Department of Political Science, the article examines how Trump’s approach to foreign policy will impact our future relations with China if he gets a second term.
Byers describes Trump’s foreign policy approach as having realistic restraint based on an evaluation of decisions made in his first term. He uses examples of how Trump strategically avoided military conflict and entanglements to support this assessment. Byers says that even though Trump “talks tough as a means of pressuring other leaders and appeasing his domestic base” he has never acted like a bully.
If Trump wins a second term, Byers argues that the success of his foreign policies will depend on whether he hires people who agree with his approach. Many public policy officials do not share Trump’s views and could present major challenges if he is reelected. Another challenge the Trump administration will face is the need to separate rhetoric from reality. According to Byers “Tough talk can be helpful in holding another state’s feet to the fire, but we should not believe our own tough talk.” There is no need to talk ourselves into a cold war with China or a hot war with other nations like Iran. States must be held accountable, but these types of hostility are not in anyone’s best interest.
When it comes to our relationship with China, Byers advocates the benefits of a Cold Peace. Byers says, “Peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial prosperity” must be the watchwords of a second Trump administration.
