The decline of US diplomacy: Implications for US global leadership

Diplomacy has been a cornerstone of US global leadership in the post-Cold War era. The Trump Administration has dismantled long-standing foreign policy institutions, sharply reduced foreign assistance, and shifted foreign policy decision-making toward the executive branch. At the same time, it has moved away from multilateralism in favour of a transactional foreign policy centred on personalised presidential diplomacy, bilateral deals, and the use of coercive economic measures. Together, these changes have weakened US global leadership. They have reduced American soft power, eroded global trust, undercut US influence in global norm setting, and diminished the country’s ability to monitor and respond to global developments. Although the US continues to have unmatched military power and economic leverage, a sustained withdrawal from development assistance, public diplomacy and multilateral forums, especially on transnational challenges, is likely to accelerate competition over the future rules and norms of the international order. As China rapidly expands its global initiatives and India, Brazil and other BRICS countries press for reforms of international institutions, the liberal character of the global order will very much depend on how US allies and partners take up the reins in response to the US retreat.