@stephenwertheim.bsky.social
America in the world, past and present / Senior Fellow, American Statecraft Program, @carnegieendowment.org / Visiting Lecturer, Yale Law School / Historian and author of Tomorrow, the World: The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy / Views my own, obviously
I told @nytimes.com: “Despite widespread fears that Trump might pull back from the world, he is working to reinvigorate U.S. military dominance across the board. It’s America First globalism. Far from exiting alliances, Trump is weaponizing them as platforms for coercion.”
27.02.2026 18:38 — 👍 6 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0In effect, Trump has given himself a deadline to figure out his actual negotiating position toward Iran — or else he will inflict a potentially very costly war on himself (and everyone else)!
23.02.2026 01:36 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
I argue in this interview that Europe has stronger leverage over Trump than it realizes, because Trump does not in fact want to leave NATO or slash the U.S. military presence in Europe. denikn.cz/1980647/trum...
21.02.2026 15:29 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
The President's Echo System: How Foreign Policy is Sold to Americans, Chad Levinson. "The Imperial Presidency is also the PR Presidency" - Stephen Wertheim, author of Tomorrow, the World. A groundbreaking look at the outside groups that translate foreign policy agendas into public support. Coming June 2026. Harvard.
A moment of self-promotion, following @unlawfulentries.bsky.social who also has a book on the way (and who manages the APD starter kit go.bsky.app/FnNTVdS, where most of my followers come from).
19.02.2026 16:36 — 👍 4 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0
I told @thetimes.com that @aoc.bsky.social's answer on Taiwan was not only reasonable but better than Biden's:
19.02.2026 02:02 — 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0Yeah, you struck a nerve by making a false accusation for which you take no responsibility.
16.02.2026 21:26 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0Nor have you provided an iota of evidence to justify your slanderous suggestion that I want Russia to defeat Ukraine. I will no longer be engaging with you.
16.02.2026 20:42 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
“What she said excludes neither of these” was exactly my point in my original comment.
That comment address U.S. alliances globally, whereas you incorrectly assumed Ukraine was the focus. Ukraine is not a treaty ally, so if anything you should have assumed my comment did *not* pertain to Ukraine.
She could advocate alliances to stop authoritarian aggression while shifting a greater share of the defense burdens onto allies. And greater aid to Ukraine could be compensated for by cuts elsewhere.
You falsely, appallingly suggested I want Russia to win.
A sincere and pertinent question that is on the mind of many Americans. You dismiss it as a sophism and add completely false insults to boot.
16.02.2026 12:43 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
After AOC spoke in Munich, I told @wsj.com: “Some of her allies on the left are already asking how her vision of maintaining military alliances to stop authoritarian aggression leaves room for controlling Pentagon spending, avoiding future wars and shifting defense burdens to allies and partners.”
15.02.2026 21:49 — 👍 9 🔁 3 💬 2 📌 2
A great pleasure to discuss with Chris Chivvis what Trump’s foreign policy amounts to after year one, and where it might go. A really substantial conversation (albeit edited down from the original 2+ hour endurance contest!): youtu.be/upCED52yaS8
14.02.2026 11:09 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
There will be U.S. foreign policy after Trump. I look forward to discussing its contours on Friday 9 am at @munsecconf.bsky.social. Spots are open for registration.
07.02.2026 17:23 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A pleasure to discuss realism — what it is, what it isn't, and what it has to do with Trump — with Linda Kinstler and @martindicaro.bsky.social.
Listen here through this ad-free gift link: historyasithappens.supercast.com/subscriber_v...
This says a lot about perception, mood and confidence (or lack thereof), so useful as a barometer despite the fact that it doesn’t correspond with reality.
25.01.2026 19:10 — 👍 10 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
Only 35% of Americans say the United States has more global power and influence than China does.
I am with the 19% who say the United States is more powerful than China — but that’s the least popular of the three options polled in the new @carnegieendowment.org / YouGov survey.
President Biden said the United States was “the indispensable nation” that “holds the world together.”
But a large majority of Democrats say the United States is one of several powerful nations — not the single most powerful.
Another remarkable finding:
A solid majority of Americans — 62 percent — say their lives would not get worse if China surpassed the United States in global power and influence.
This and more in a new @carnegieendowment.org / YouGov survey: carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
22.01.2026 18:34 — 👍 6 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
This finding surprised me:
47% of Americans say China is already more powerful than the United States or will be within 5 years.
Only one-quarter think China will never overtake the United States.
Trump has reclaimed America's traditional sphere of influence in the Western Hemisphere, but that does not mean he's willing to grant China or Russia spheres in their own regions.
Trump is asserting American power globally, not pulling the United States back to its own hemisphere.
Trump has never been an isolationist; he wants to take things from the world, not withdraw from it. Nor does Trump make careful calculations of costs and benefits. He has always been a showman more than a businessman, and as president, he is guided above all by the performance of power.
22.01.2026 15:00 — 👍 6 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
And in Korean: www.khan.co.kr/article/2026...
21.01.2026 18:33 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
More from @carnegieendowment.org: carnegieendowment.org/posts/2026/0...
21.01.2026 18:33 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 2
Q: As President Donald Trump approaches the first anniversary of his inauguration, if you were to choose a single word to characterize the defining feature of his foreign policy over the past year, what would it be?
Me: Thuggish. Extortionate. Frenzied. Myopic.
▶️ Kennan Conversations: Maduro’s Fall and Russia’s Response
A timely discussion on Venezuela, U.S. foreign policy, and Russia’s global posture with @hannanotte.bsky.social and @stephenwertheim.bsky.social moderated by Michael Kimmage.
Watch the full recording on YouTube.
youtu.be/sF6aU2UTPDs
💭 Military force is not only about action, but also about signaling.
In this segment from Kennan Conversations, @stephenwertheim.bsky.social reflects on how Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela suggest increasing confidence in the use of force as a political tool.
