La diplomazia della transazione, gli Stati Uniti e il sistema delle alleanze durante la presidenza Trump

Since the end of the Second World War, the role of the United States on the international chessboard has been closely linked to the stability and sustainability of the system of its security alliances, either multilateral or bilateral, which Washington gradually established in several regions. This essay analyzes the U.S. alliance system in three main strategic theaters under Donald J. Trump presidency. First, the Indo-Pacific region, particularly the bilateral agreements with Japan and South Korea, and the trilateral alliance with Australia and New Zealand. Second, the European theater, focusing on NATO. Third, the Western Hemisphere, especially the Rio Treaty. The essay argues that the historic U.S. mutual defense alliance system went through a phase of renewal throughout the Trump presidency. Far from being decayed, U.S. alliances – particularly those in Europe and Asia – had to deal with the declining status and influence of the American power. Washington certainly moved away from the practices of multilateralism over the last four years, exerting strong pressure at the diplomatic and economic level on long-standing allies whose support, as showed by the measures adopted by the Congress, still seems essential to American foreign policy in the long run. The Biden presidency, thus, opens up with new perspectives for the U.S. security alliance system.