• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Richard Sokolsky",
    "Aaron David Miller"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "",
  "programs": [],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "North America",
    "United States"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Security",
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

A Politically Inconvenient Guide to Trump’s National Security Strategy Speech

National Security Strategies are typically less detailed foreign policy to do lists than broad principles and platitudes designed to persuade people that an administration has a compelling and effective strategy. A year in it’s not at all clear that the Trump administration has one.

Link Copied
By Richard Sokolsky and Aaron David Miller
Published on Dec 19, 2017

Source: USA Today

Who says Donald Trump doesn’t have a foreign policy? He does, but it wasn’t the one he rolled out in a speech Monday on his administration’s national security strategy.

Much of the speech contains language quite consistent with Trumpian values, particularly the focus on America first, homeland security, trade protectionism, America’s sovereignty, and withdrawal from Paris Climate and Trans-Pacific Partnership. But it’s also full of bromides, slogans and platitudes to persuade Congress, the media and the public that the administration has a coherent strategy to protect U.S. interests in a turbulent world.

Still, there is little in the speech that reflects much of what Trump has actually done in foreign policy or why. Here’s a more politically inconvenient guide to Trump’s foreign policy. And unlike the national security strategy, it may well provide clues as to how he’ll operate for the remainder of his presidency....

Read Full Text

This article was originally published by USA Today.

About the Authors

Richard Sokolsky

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program

Richard Sokolsky is a nonresident senior fellow in Carnegie’s Russia and Eurasia Program. His work focuses on U.S. policy toward Russia in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.

Aaron David Miller

Senior Fellow, American Statecraft Program

Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy.

Authors

Richard Sokolsky
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program
Richard Sokolsky
Aaron David Miller
Senior Fellow, American Statecraft Program
Aaron David Miller
SecurityForeign PolicyNorth AmericaUnited States

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Pashinyan shaking hands
    Commentary
    Emissary
    At Stake in Armenia’s Election: Peace and Russian Influence

    Regardless of the outcome, there’s another path to ensuring that progress doesn’t stall.

      Zaur Shiriyev

  • Commentary
    Emissary
    Trump and Xi Are Angling for Three Years of Stability

    But their "principal to principal" model will only be as effective as the political strength of each leader back home.

      • Damien Ma

      Damien Ma

  • Recruit polices vow as they join in the police at Beijing Public Security Bureau on February 18, 2011 in Beijing, China. (
    Paper
    China’s Police and Security Cooperation Agreements

    China’s Ministry of Public Security is often portrayed as a domestic law enforcement agency, but it is also a global security actor. This paper explores how MPS has used international law enforcement and security cooperation agreements—over 200 since 2006—to advance China’s vision of security in a changing global environment.  

      • Sheena Chestnut Greitens

      Sophie Zhuang, Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Cameron Waltz

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Could Migrants From India and Africa Solve Russia’s Labor Shortage?

    The demands of the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, demographic problems, and public hostility toward Central Asians mean Russia does not have enough workers.  

      Salavat Abylkalikov

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Europe Should Not Let Nuclear Nonproliferation Die

    Amid uncertainty caused by the Iran war, the global drive for nonproliferation has stalled. With Europe diplomatically marginalized and countries reassessing their nuclear options, efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons risk becoming irrelevant.

      • Jane Darby Menton

      Jane Darby Menton

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.