Panel Retrenchment from the Global Order? US Foreign Policy under Trump and Beyond at APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2021

Since World War II, the US has been a backbone if not hegemonic anchor of an international order characterized by liberal principles, including the respect for human rights and the rule of law, an open economic order, and multilateralism (liberal international order or LIO). While US hegemony has always been contested, US leadership in world affairs has been taken for granted for a long time. Over the past ten to fifteen years, however, we observe a gradual re-trenchment of this global leadership role. With its rejection of LIO, the Trump administration only accelerated this trend. Given the domestic polarization of US politics, it remains to be seen whether a Biden administration can reverse US retrenchment. The panel will discuss US foreign policy from a variety of perspectives and by putting current developments in a longer-term context. The papers by Tanja A. Börzel & Thomas Risse and Lora Anne Viola critically reflect on the myth of the US as a “liberal hegemon” during most of the post-WW II period. Börzel & Risse also look into the question whether the transatlantic security community is up to the task of global leadership. The paper by Stephanie Anderson & Jean Garrison investigates the domestic sources of US foreign policy. The paper by Ana Covarrubias and María Celia Toro, finally reflects on US human rights and immigration policies as seen from the global South. 

Presentations

The Liberal International Order and the Transatlantic Security Community - Tanja A. Börzel & Thomas Risse (Freie Universität Berlin; Principal Investigators at SCRIPTS) 
Trump in Perspective: US Views Toward the Liberal World Order - Stephanie Anderson & Jean Garrison (University of Wyoming)
The Illiberalism of America's Liberal Internationalism - Lora Anne Viola (Freie Universität Berlin)
Immigration in U:S:-Mexico Relations: Do Human Rights Matter? - Ana Covarrubias & María Celia Toro (El Colegio de México)

Discussant: G. John Ikenberry, Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University
Chair: Thomas Risse, Professor of International Relations at Freie Universität Berlin, Principal Investigator at SCRIPTS
Language: English
Please register to receive livestream link: Registration 

This event is not organized by SCRIPTS. 

About the American Political Science Association (APSA) Annual Meeting & Exhibition

The 117th American Political Science Association’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition, September 30–October 3, 2021, will be held in Seattle, Washington, or virtually from September 28–October 3, 2021, to address the latest scholarship in political science while exploring the 2021 theme, “Promoting Pluralism.” In-person conference sessions will take place at the Washington State Convention Center and the Sheraton Grand Seattle.