Iran war is bringing out stress points in his coercive unilateralism. Latest example: his counterterror chief has quit. Post-WW2 elite consensus on American dominance is thinning, globally & in US
Trump’s second term starkly illustrates a rapidly intensifying imbalance, between consent and force in America’s hegemonic strategy. Historically, US favoured waging a patient struggle for hearts and minds, through soft power. Trump’s escalating military campaigns, however, exemplify coercion without restraint. But how far can Trump push such a coercive strategy, and what restraints, if any, remain on a president, who seems to have dismantled the guardrails of American liberal democracy?