Trump 2.0: A Grand Bargain With Putin And Hard Pivot To China

However, Trump would likely need to make trade-offs to achieve a more isolationist stance.

First, a grand bargain with Russia will be necessary. This is not simply because of Trump's admiration for Vladimir Putin, but because he has promised to end the war in Ukraine swiftly.

Although Russian ultranationalists are gleefully crowing about Trump's victory, the Biden administration is scrambling to get US$6 billion in military assistance to Kyiv before the hand over power in January. Hence, Trump can't immediately count on Ukrainian weakness as a precursor to a peace settlement.

Second, in the medium term, it may require a bargain with China. An endless trade war based on tit-for-tat tariffs will drive inflation higher in the US and bite into Trump's blue-collar, rural voting base.

Repeated calls by Trump's national security loyalists for a confrontational approach to China, coupled with his frustration with America's European allies, whom he believes are freeriding on US defense spending, may lead him to pivot to Asia instead.

However, this would entail an even deeper bargain with Moscow. It would have to include not only a deal to end the Ukraine war but also a more holistic agreement to downscale the US-Russian confrontation.

While it is by no means guaranteed Putin would be amenable to this, it would free up US resources to confront China militarily as well as economically. Trump's new administration will include many China hawks like Trump loyalist Colby, who have been arguing for years that Beijing poses the gravest threat to US power.

But this pathway will require a firm commitment by Trump (not his strength). It will also require more concrete US security guarantees to its allies in the Asia-Pacific region – in exchange for their commitment to not only help constrain China, but be prepared to participate in a potential conflict.

If Trump does abandon America's NATO allies, it remains to be seen how even its closest Asian partners would regard his commitment to their security or his ability to manage crises in the region.

A third option would be for Trump to channel former US President Ronald Reagan, seeking to restore and maintain global US primacy. America would lead, but do so pragmatically – and with allies whose interests aligned with its own.

This would be a considerable undertaking, not to mention a costly one. It would require hefty military spending, investment in research and development, re‐establishing American dominance in critical technologies , and finding alternative solutions to supply chains currently dominated by China.

It would also mean doubling down on strategic competition with Beijing, and being prepared to substantially arm proxies (and not just allies) to put pressure on China.

But even this would have limits. As Trump has repeatedly demonstrated, he regards national interests and personal ones as essentially the same thing.

A desire to give Israel a completely free hand, for instance, will have to be moderated by his extensive ties to Saudi Arabia, although Riyadh would certainly approve of Trump's desire to crack down hard on Iran.

And how Trump deals with dictators will also come under scrutiny.

In the past, his open admiration for Putin, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has given America's partners pause. It has also constrained Trump from achieving his objectives.

Either one of these pathways will lead to instability and tough choices for America's partners.

Putin will likely make Trump earn any peace over Ukraine by simply refusing to negotiate until the White House puts sufficient pressure on Kyiv to capitulate. And peace on Russian terms will be fragile, entail painful Ukrainian concessions, spawn bitter insurgent campaigns and critically weaken European security.

Europe now finds itself at a crossroads. It finally has to confront the prospect of being responsible for its own security and defense against a reinvigorated Russia. It will now have to work quickly, spend far more on defense and overcome its crippling institutional inertia.

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This will also accelerate the new European security order that is already taking shape, with Poland , the Baltic and Nordic states, and the UK as the main bulwarks against Russia.

In Asia and the Pacific, questions about America's commitment to security guarantees will drive local arms races and make nuclear proliferation more likely. Countries like Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines will also need to ramp up efforts to work together without the US. That will be easier for some than others.

The upshot? Trust, common values and a commitment to a stable rules-based order are what have sustained and deepened America's security partnerships.

At the very least, Trump 2.0 will make most US allies wary for the foreseeable future. But the greatest tragedy of all would be if he proceeds with his promised campaign of revenge against internal enemies, deporting millions and using his mandate to create a Potemkin democracy.

I fervently hope that doesn't happen. But then again, you should never bet against self-interest.

Matthew Sussex is Associate Professor (Adj), Griffith Asia Institute; and fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article .

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