Book Review: Daniel Quinn Mills and Steven Rosefielde, The Trump Phenomenon and the Future of US Foreign Policy
| Published date | 01 November 2017 |
| Author | Mark Grzegorzewski |
| Date | 01 November 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929917714963 |
| Subject Matter | Book ReviewsInternational Relations |
626 Political Studies Review 15(4)
The Trump Phenomenon and the Future of
US Foreign Policy by Daniel Quinn Mills and
Steven Rosefielde. London: World Scientific
Publishing, 2017. 197pp., £21.00 (p/b), ISBN
9789813200999
This book by Daniel Mills and Steven
Rosefielde argues that a ‘sane’ foreign policy
based upon democratic nationalism will further
the United States’ interests in the world through
strategic independence, since it puts American
interests ahead of international commitments.
The authors contrast democratic nationalism
with internationalist cosmopolitanism, which
benefits insiders and bankrupts the country. In
contrasting these foreign policies, the authors
detail what they believe a successful foreign
policy entails, current international dangers and
the failure of current policy.
In Part I, Mills and Rosefielde claim that
Trump has correctly recognised the disease that
plagues the United States, meaning US foreign
policy confusion and incoherence, yet Trump
has yet to identify the cure to the disease. The
policy alternative the authors put forward is
their cure: Realism. Their Realism calls for
sound policy by rejecting the influence of insid-
ers and redirecting government policy to benefit
the public good.
In Part II, the authors identify several
dangers and argue that democratic nationalism
is better suited to confront these dangers than
internationalist cosmopolitanism. Among the
dangers is increased nuclear risk. They claim
that due to America’s failed policy with Russia,
the latter is the most dangerous member of the
nuclear club. As a remedy to the United States’
failed cosmopolitan internationalist policy
with Russia, the authors advocate ceding
power to Russia so that the Russians will not
feel threatened, which in turn may cause them
to be more accommodating in international
politics.
In Part III, Mills and Rosefielde attempt to
outline how the failure of internationalist
cosmo-politanism caused the problems the
United States faces today. They claim that
national policy has been diverted to private
agendas, and that the public is largely ignorant
of US national decay. Without serious changes
to American policy – meaning democratic
nationalism – the authors believe that a revi-
sionist challenger could defeat the United
States. Ultimately, the authors put their hopes
in Trump to reverse the subordination of
American foreign policy to international com-
mitments.
Regretfully, this book does not deliver. It
begins interestingly, stating that Trump’s view
on international politics is largely correct.
However, the authors never justify this claim.
Moreover, the authors’ insights are often topi-
cal and they rarely present any evidence to sup-
port their claims. Furthermore, the chapters
themselves feel disjointed, the thoughts mud-
dled and they rarely conclude with anything to
say of importance. Unfortunately, I cannot rec-
ommend this book for someone seeking a
framework on how the Trump administration
will, or should, approach US foreign policy.
Mark Grzegorzewski
(Joint Special Operations University, Florida)
© The Author(s) 2017
Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1478929917714963
journals.sagepub.com/home/psrev
Carnage and Connectivity: Landmarks in
the Decline of Conventional Military Power
by David Betz. London: C. Hurst & Co, 2015.
256pp., £30.00 (h/b), ISBN 9781849043229
In this 2015 book written for students and
practitioners of contemporary war and strat-
egy, David Betz asks how increasing connec-
tivity, or, as the author calls it, the ‘wiring up
of the world’ (p. 3), affects the direction and
likelihood of (future) war. The answer is trou-
bling: while connectivity may eventually do
good, in the near future it is more likely to
bring carnage. The author argues that the
growing cyberspace (including cyberwar)
plays into the hands of violent non-state actors,
who are able to use the virtual domain to prop-
agate their revolutionary ideas and create
havoc. Traditional militaries, by contrast, are
struggling to adapt.
Blending classic war literature with post-
modernist theory, the author substantiates his
argument by tracing post-Cold War develop-
ments in military thought and practice in the
United States and the United Kingdom. The
book pays considerable attention to the First
Gulf War and various other conflicts of the
1990s, as well as the 2003 invasion of Iraq and
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