Kimmage, M. The World Trump Wants. Foreign Affairs, 104(2). https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/world-trump-wants-michael-kimmage

Summary

Michael Kimmage argues that Trump’s return signals a major shift in global politics: away from the U.S.-led liberal international order and toward a world defined by nationalism, great-power competition, civilizational identity, and transactional diplomacy.

Trump’s worldview is not isolationist — instead, it resembles an older conservative tradition that emphasizes national strength, cultural identity, and skepticism toward global institutions. Under Trump, the U.S. would engage internationally, but without the goal of upholding a rules-based order or leading “the West.”

The result is a global landscape that becomes more fragmented, power-driven, and fluid — with the U.S., Russia, China, India, and others operating like “civilization-states,” each pursuing its own sphere of influence.

Key Arguments/Main Points

1. We are entering a new era of nationalism and “strongman politics”

• Trump’s worldview aligns with a broader pattern seen in Russia, China, India, Hungary, Turkey, etc.

• This global trend rejects liberal internationalism and embraces identity, sovereignty, and national “greatness.”

→ The world order is shifting from globalism to nationalism.

2. Trump is not an isolationist — he represents a 1950s-style conservative foreign policy

• Kimmage argues Trump’s roots lie in Cold War anticommunist conservatism:

  • nationalism

  • cultural traditionalism

  • belief in civilizational struggle

  • skepticism of multilateral institutions

• Trump is active internationally, but he opposes global governance and universal values.

→ He wants engagement, but only on America-first, power-based terms.

3. Trump prefers a world of great-power spheres, not alliances or a “West”

• He is suspicious of NATO, the EU, and “Western values.”

• The U.S. becomes more like Russia, China, India — each a “civilization-state” that prioritizes its cultural identity and national strength.

• The concept of a unified “West” is weakened or abandoned.

→ Under Trump, America stops being the leader of the West.

4. Foreign policy becomes transactional, flexible, and personalized

• Trump favors informal deals, leader-to-leader relationships, and ad hoc arrangements.

• Multilateral institutions are sidelined.

• Alliances become less stable and more conditional.

→ International order becomes fluid and unpredictable.

5. Europe’s power declines as U.S. commitment to the West weakens

• Europe lacks military unity and strategic coherence.

• Without consistent U.S. backing, Europe becomes more vulnerable and less influential.

• The transatlantic partnership becomes fragile.

→ Europe loses its central place in global politics.

6. The future global order will be fragmented but not necessarily chaotic

• The decline of U.S.-led internationalism does not automatically mean global collapse.

• Instead, Kimmage predicts:

  • shifting coalitions

  • overlapping spheres of influence

  • regional power politics

• U.S. influence remains significant, but no longer rules-based or stabilizing.

→ The world becomes multipolar, competitive, and flexible.

Key Arguments/Main Points Pt.2

1. A New Global Strongman Era Is Emerging

• Trump’s second presidency signals a global shift toward nationalist, charismatic, and civilizational leaders.

• He joins leaders like Putin, Xi, Modi, and Erdogan in rejecting global governance, alliances, and multilateral rules. 

2. Trumpism Isn’t Isolationist—It’s Revisionist

• Unlike 1930s America First isolationism, Trump embraces U.S. superpower status and is willing to use force or coercion.

• His ideological roots lie in 1950s right-wing anticommunism, not 1930s neutrality. 

3. The Post–Cold War Liberal Order is Dying

• The U.S.-led system of rules, alliances, and supranational institutions is eroding.

• Under Trump, the U.S. accelerates—not slows—this breakdown. 

4. Global Politics Is Now Civilizational, Not Ideological

• Modern nationalists weaponize the idea of civilizations—Russian, Indian, Chinese, Turkish, Western—yet use them flexibly and opportunistically (“clash of civilizations lite”). 

5. Revisionist Leaders Are Redefining Borders

• Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a critical example of the return of empire, conquest, and border modification.

• Xi in Taiwan, Modi in disputed borders, and Erdogan in the Caucasus reflect similar revisionist impulses. 

6. Trump Thrives in a Transnational, Personality-Driven World

• Trump’s diplomacy is based on personal relationships, not institutions or alliances.

• This suits a world of unpredictable, transactional leaders. 

7. War Could Escalate Catastrophically—Especially in Ukraine

• He outlines how Ukraine’s defeat could drag NATO’s eastern members into war, forcing Trump into a confrontation with Russia.

• This is the most dangerous scenario. 

8. But Trump Could Also Broker Relative Peace

• A flexible, transactional approach could lower tensions with Russia and China.

• Not solving conflicts—but managing and containing them. 

9. America Still Has Power—If Trump Uses It Wisely

• U.S. alliances and the American-led global economy remain unmatched tools for influence.

• Even in a chaotic system, U.S. power can stabilize regions if applied carefully.

Arguments From Lecture

1. Trump: US history of right-wing anti-communism

• Kimmage argues that Trump’s worldview grows out of a long U.S. tradition of right-wing nationalism shaped by the Cold War.

• Anti-communism provided a moralized, us-vs-them worldview, which emphasized:

  • Strong borders

  • A powerful military

  • Suspicion toward intellectuals, multilateralism, and social reform

• Trump inherits this lineage, but redirects anti-communist energy toward new enemies: China, globalists, elites, immigrants.

• It’s a style of politics built on fear, confrontation, and national purity.

2. Critiques of “soft,” “secular” American liberalism

• The article shows how Trump channels resentment against:

  • Cosmopolitan elites

  • Secularism and liberal cultural norms

  • Institutions seen as “weak” or “globalist”

• New nationalism positions traditional values — strength, faith, nation, and authority — against liberal ideals like pluralism, diversity, and empathy.

• Kimmage says this tension fuels Trump’s appeal, especially among voters who see liberalism as too permissive or morally directionless.

3. Strongmen leaders and their desires for power/glory

• Kimmage argues Trump is part of a global network of strongman politics: Putin, Orbán, Modi, Erdoğan, Milei.

• These leaders share:

  • A personalized, charismatic image of leadership

  • A belief they embody the “true” nation

  • A desire for historical greatness, not policy-based governance

• Instead of seeing themselves as administrators, they imagine themselves as mythic figures restoring a lost national glory.

• Trump mirrors this model — elevating spectacle and personal loyalty over institutions.

4. Shared resentment of international constraints and limits

• New nationalism (including Trumpism) emerges from anger toward institutions like:

  • NATO

  • W.H.O.

  • WTO

  • The Paris climate accords

• Trump views these as:

  • Financial burdens

  • Constraints on American sovereignty

  • Systems that benefit others at America’s expense

• Kimmage argues that Trump’s nationalism is defined by disengagement from international rules and a belief that the U.S. should no longer “carry” the world.

5. Non-Western resentment of U.S. liberal hegemony

• Kimmage explains that the weakening of U.S. global influence — especially post-2008 and post-Iraq — has opened space for:

  • China

  • Russia

  • Regional powers in the Global South

• These nations resent decades of U.S. liberal dominance and are now pushing alternative world orders.

• Trump’s vision fits this trend because he abandons the traditional American role of:

  • Defending democracy

  • Supporting human rights

  • Upholding global leadership

• Instead, Trump’s worldview says:
  “Let other nations run their own spheres of influence — we’ll just pursue America First.”

• This unintentionally aligns Trump with authoritarian critiques of U.S. global power.

Short Summary

• Kimmage argues that Trump’s nationalism is rooted in older American right-wing traditions, especially Cold War anti-communism and hostility to cosmopolitan liberalism.

• Trump fits within a global rise of strongman leaders who value power, glory, and national identity over institutions and norms.

• The new nationalism emerges from a rejection of international constraints, portraying global commitments as limiting national sovereignty.

• Finally, Trump’s worldview resonates with broader non-Western resistance to U.S. liberal dominance, helping shift the world toward a more fragmented, multipolar, and authoritarian-friendly order.