The core of this work are the four traditions in American foreign policy and their relation with the great power status of the United States and the Trump administration. The aim is to provide a specific analysis of the role and the impact these traditions have had and still have in the U.S. foreign policy understanding also how they shaped and characterized it and progressively extending the focus on the connection between the four schools and the international status of the country trying to study to what extent these two elements can be interconnected. Specifically, observing whether the traditions play a role in the definition of the United States as great power and, conversely, if the U.S. advances the policies envisioned by the four schools because of the global role it holds. With regard to the traditions, this work considers the classification presented by professor Walter Russell Mead in his book Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How it changed the World, written in 2002. Successively, this theoretical framework will be applied primarily taking into consideration the Trump administration from the perspective of his foreign policy agenda and the kind of tradition he represents and ultimately the dissertation will extend the same approach to the Biden administration as the next president-elect. However, it is important to highlight that the main focus of the thesis is directed towards the study of the Trump presidency and that the study of the next administration has been approached with the awareness of the limits given by the current news and the consequent fact that a full set of analysis on the matter is not available yet. Overall, this work consists of four chapters with following subchapters. The first one provides a theoretical explanation and description of the four traditions and the political, economic, social and cultural features each one entails with an additional focus on the significance of the American political tradition and some historical examples of the practical application of the principles characterizing the four schools of thought. The second chapter focuses on the great power status of the United States presenting first the conditions for such classification and then investigating the connection with the traditions and the kind of foreign policy carried out by the United States while holding such status. While the third one is centered on the Trump administration studying its foreign policy, highlighting its relation with the traditions and understanding this presidency and the puzzle it presented with regard to President Trump’s attempt to project American power in the world but in anti-international contexts and with a “America First” mindset advancing his political agenda of “Make America Great Again” and recovering and boosting the U.S. role of great power but with isolationists and nationalists positions. Presenting Trump’s try to recover and re-validate the lost role of the U.S. relying on the four traditions, one in particular, which do not actually defend such role. Finally, the fourth and last chapter provides an insight on the future of U.S. foreign policy, the application of the traditions and the American status of great power in the Biden administration.
Questo lavoro si basa sulle quattro tradizioni della politica estera Americana e la loro relazione con la condizione di grande potenza degli Stati Uniti e l’amministrazione di Donald Trump. L’obiettivo é quello di fornire un’analisi specifica del ruolo e dell’impatto che queste tradizioni hanno avuto e continuano ad avere nella politica estera del paese comprendendo anche come l’abbiano formata e caratterizzata ed estendendo poi il discorso riguardo la relazione tra le quattro scuole di pensiero e la condizione internazionale del paese cercando di comprendere quanto questi due elementi siano collegati. In particolar modo, studiando il ruolo che le tradizioni hanno avuto nel definire lo stato di grande potenza degli Stati Uniti e, d’altra parte, se il paese riesce a promuovere le politiche previste dalle tradizioni grazie al ruolo globale che ricopre. Per quanto riguarda le tradizioni, questo elaborato prende in considerazione la classificazione elaborata dal Professore Walter Russell Mead nel suo libro Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How it changed the World (2002). Successivamente questo studio teorico verrá principalmente applicato prendendo in considerazione l’amministrazione Trump dal punto di vista della politica estera messa in atto e del tipo di tradizione rappresentata ed infine la tesi applicherá lo stesso approccio studiando la futura amministrazione di Joe Biden. Tuttavia é importante sottolineare che l’analisi fornita da questa tesi si concentra prevalentemente sull’amministrazione Trump e che lo studio della futura presidenza é stato affrontato con la consapevolezza dei limiti imposti dalla recente novitá della notizia e dal conseguente fatto che i materiali di studio e analisi di tale argomento non sono ancora completamente disponibili. In generale, questa tesi si compone di quattro capitoli e successivi sottocapitoli. Il primo fornisce una descrizione e spiegazione teorica delle quattro tradizioni e degli elementi politici, economici, sociali e culturali che rappresentano con un ulteriore studio dell’importanza della tradizione politica Americana e l’illustrazione di alcuni esempi storici riguardo l’applicazione pratica dei principi caratteristici delle quattro scuole di pensiero. Il secondo riguarda la condizione di grande potenza degli Stati Uniti descrivendo prima le condizioni che permettono tale classificazione e studiando poi la relazione con le tradizioni e il tipo di politica estera adottata dagli Stati Uniti mentre ricoprivano tale ruolo. Invece il terzo capitolo si concentra sull’amministrazione Trump analizzando la sua politica estera, evidenziando il rapporto con le tradizioni e studiando tale presidenza e il puzzle che rappresenta per quanto riguarda il tentativo del Presidente Trump di proiettare l’immagine e il potere degli Stati Uniti nel mondo in contesti non internazionali e con una visione politica che da prioritá agli interessi del paese (“America First”) promuovendo la sua campagna politica di “Make America Great Again” e cercando di recuperare e rilanciare il ruolo di grande potenza degli Stati Uniti con posizioni isolazioniste e nazionaliste. Presentando cosi il tentativo di Trump di recuperare e consolidare il ruolo perduto del paese facendo riferimento alle quattro tradizioni, una in particolare, ma in realtá queste tradizioni non difendono tale ruolo. Infine, il quarto e ultimo capitolo fornisce una prospettiva riguardo il futuro della politica estera Americana, l’applicazione delle tradizioni e lo stato di grande potenza degli Stati Uniti durante l’amministrazione Biden.
Lo stato di grande potenza, le quattro tradizioni della politica estera Americana e l'amministrazione Trump
PENATI, SABRINA
2019/2020
Abstract
The core of this work are the four traditions in American foreign policy and their relation with the great power status of the United States and the Trump administration. The aim is to provide a specific analysis of the role and the impact these traditions have had and still have in the U.S. foreign policy understanding also how they shaped and characterized it and progressively extending the focus on the connection between the four schools and the international status of the country trying to study to what extent these two elements can be interconnected. Specifically, observing whether the traditions play a role in the definition of the United States as great power and, conversely, if the U.S. advances the policies envisioned by the four schools because of the global role it holds. With regard to the traditions, this work considers the classification presented by professor Walter Russell Mead in his book Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How it changed the World, written in 2002. Successively, this theoretical framework will be applied primarily taking into consideration the Trump administration from the perspective of his foreign policy agenda and the kind of tradition he represents and ultimately the dissertation will extend the same approach to the Biden administration as the next president-elect. However, it is important to highlight that the main focus of the thesis is directed towards the study of the Trump presidency and that the study of the next administration has been approached with the awareness of the limits given by the current news and the consequent fact that a full set of analysis on the matter is not available yet. Overall, this work consists of four chapters with following subchapters. The first one provides a theoretical explanation and description of the four traditions and the political, economic, social and cultural features each one entails with an additional focus on the significance of the American political tradition and some historical examples of the practical application of the principles characterizing the four schools of thought. The second chapter focuses on the great power status of the United States presenting first the conditions for such classification and then investigating the connection with the traditions and the kind of foreign policy carried out by the United States while holding such status. While the third one is centered on the Trump administration studying its foreign policy, highlighting its relation with the traditions and understanding this presidency and the puzzle it presented with regard to President Trump’s attempt to project American power in the world but in anti-international contexts and with a “America First” mindset advancing his political agenda of “Make America Great Again” and recovering and boosting the U.S. role of great power but with isolationists and nationalists positions. Presenting Trump’s try to recover and re-validate the lost role of the U.S. relying on the four traditions, one in particular, which do not actually defend such role. Finally, the fourth and last chapter provides an insight on the future of U.S. foreign policy, the application of the traditions and the American status of great power in the Biden administration.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/657