New Trump Era and Europe: Public guest lecture with Stephen G. Brooks

The U.S. Grand Strategy Debate: Implications of a New Trump Era for Europe

This lecture will analyze the ongoing debate concerning whether America should stay engaged or pull back from the world. The vast majority of scholars writing on US grand strategy agree with President Trump that America should now pull back.  This lecture will show why this retrenchment perspective is wrong. If America were to pull back, it is not just America’s allies that would suffer; US interests would also be greatly harmed. The final part of the lecture then outlines what European policymakers can and should do to alter the contours of the American grand strategy debate.

Stephen G. Brooks is professor of government at Dartmouth College. He is the author of several books, including Command of Commerce: America's Enduring Economic Power Advantage over China (Oxford University Press, 2025, with Ben Vagle), America Abroad: The United States' Global Role in the 21st Century (Oxford University Press, 2016, with William Wohlforth), and World Out of Balance: International Relations and the Challenge of American Primacy (Princeton University Press, 2008, with William Wohlforth).