It’s no secret that President Donald Trump has world aspirations — regardless of his guarantees of specializing in “America First.” The previous few weeks have seen US motion in Venezuela; threats to Greenland, Europe, and Iran; and Trump’s open solicitation of a Nobel Peace Prize.
The president’s newest world push: the Board of Peace.
With its billion-dollar lifetime membership payment, the brand new physique has been labeled a minor bid to exchange the United Nations. Up to now the nations who’ve joined are comparatively minor gamers on the world stage, together with Belarus, Azerbaijan, and El Salvador.
However whether or not or not the board finally ends up profitable in its mission to create “a extra nimble and efficient worldwide peace-building physique,” it’s Trump’s newest try and exert a brand new form of worldwide energy, particularly over America’s neighbors.
“He’s attempting to reestablish the US sphere of affect, its management over the Western Hemisphere,” mentioned Monica Duffy Toft, professor of worldwide politics at Tufts’ Fletcher Faculty of Legislation and Diplomacy and director of the Middle for Strategic Research.
At this time, Defined co-host Noel King spoke with Toft about the place our thought of a “world order” got here from and the place it might be headed after Trump’s shakeup. Under is an excerpt of their dialog, edited for size and readability. There’s way more within the full podcast, so hearken to At this time, Defined wherever you get podcasts, together with Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify.
It’s unbelievably nonetheless January of 2026, and we’ve got had actually important occasions in Venezuela, over Greenland, with the EU and NATO. And all of that is main folks to say President Donald Trump is attempting to remake the world order.
So the world order was established after World Conflict II. America and its Western allies determined to set up guidelines that may govern the worldwide system and together with that a collection of establishments, together with, by the best way, the United Nations. And what they had been attempting to do is about up a system of regulation — worldwide regulation, norms, and guidelines in an effort to forestall a 3rd world battle.
The concept was that using drive — using the army — was now not going to be an appropriate type of worldwide politicking on the worldwide enviornment.
That is the factor that President Trump seeks to alter or to undo or to disrupt. You’ve written a few philosophy that you just suppose is related proper now. What’s the philosophy?
He’s attempting to reestablish the US sphere of affect, its management over the Western Hemisphere. And a sphere of affect, it’s greatest understood as management with out rule. States inside a sphere are sovereign on paper; they’ve their very own authorities, their very own borders, their very own cash, and so they have worldwide recognition. However their strategic selections are restrained by the good energy, and on this case, it’s the US.
What [the US] is doing is saying, below President Trump and his administration, [countries within its sphere] can’t freely select alliances, commerce companions with out crossing strains or with out getting settlement from the US.
What’s the sphere of affect that the US is in search of? We clearly wish to have a variety of affect in Venezuela. Greenland, the president has been very clear there as effectively. However what different nations and areas will we see Trump eager to have affect over? And what does he need them to do or not do?
We all know that he needs the Western sphere below US management. This was a part of the Nationwide Safety Technique that was launched. And it’s very clear that the US goes to dominate the area. You possibly can have a look at what is finished in Venezuela, the place it simply mentioned Venezuela can now not have [formal trade] relations with China and with Russia.
However paradoxically, [the Trump administration] additionally needs to have world attain. And so now we’re seeing the tensions. There’s a flotilla transferring to the Center East in an effort to get Iran to behave. After which additionally the US needs to keep up its leverage in Asia. It has allies there, after all: Japan and Taiwan and South Korea.
So on the one hand, it’s actually urgent its case within the Western Hemisphere, however then it’s additionally insisting that it ought to have some leverage in these different areas. And the one that’s most likely most problematic is Asia. Due to course if the US can have pointy elbows in its personal sphere, China might make the argument, then why can’t we?
This makes me marvel then: Who’re the opposite nice powers? Who’re the opposite nations attempting to affect the smaller nations right here?
The highest two are most likely the Russian Federation, after all, which invaded Ukraine in 2014 after which once more in 2022. And [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s made it very clear that he needs to find out Ukrainians’ international coverage a lot in order that it doesn’t wish to be a part of within the EU or NATO, and it doesn’t need NATO expanded. So the Russian Federation is one.
And naturally, the opposite one is China, whose financial system is booming, as an enormous inhabitants and a big landmass.
This makes me consider the best way [China’s leader] Xi [Jinping] and Putin discuss their goals on this planet. Let’s return to early January, after the US spirited [Venezuelan President] Nicolas Maduro out of Venezuela.
Stephen Miller bought on tv and he mentioned to CNN’s Jake Tapper, “We stay in the true world, Jake, that’s ruled by power, that’s ruled by drive, that’s ruled by energy. These are the iron legal guidelines of the world — for the reason that starting of time.”
It was placing. It jogged my memory of the best way Vladimir Putin talks in regards to the world and the best way Xi talks in regards to the world.
Is the US simply doing what Russia and China are already doing?
Noel, that’s a good way to place it. However what I might say is we had been already there.
America superpower has all the time been [about] commerce, and free commerce. And so what’s paradoxical right here is that we didn’t want to make use of drive to try this. Now we’re utilizing drive, however at a time in historical past once we’re discovering that it’s not as efficient in securing our nationwide strategic objectives.
What’s form of a disgrace right here is that the US is, below President Trump — he appears to love this muscular international coverage. You get the fast victories, [like] Venezuela. However over the long run, it’s eroding the American fame. And over the long run, it’s really undermining our pursuits.
What you’re going to see is a balancing in opposition to the US. You’re already seeing the hedging, the place you’ve bought [Prime Minister] Mark Carney of Canada declaring,“We all know the previous order shouldn’t be coming again. We shouldn’t mourn it.” That we’re in a brand new world order, and we can not depend on our allies — we can not depend on the US. And he’s not alone.
You mentioned the US is utilizing drive, and I ponder to what diploma you suppose that’s true. So Venezuela, sure, we did go in. It was a fast mission, I believe we might put it that manner. Greenland, we didn’t really do something, nor did we even find yourself levying tariffs on Europe over the entire Greenland struggle. President Trump backed off.
So whenever you say we’re utilizing drive, how do you see that? You’re not speaking boots on the bottom, proper?
The Trump administration did say with the Greenland operation, earlier than it deescalated, fortunately, that they wouldn’t low cost placing American forces in there and reestablishing these bases.
I wasn’t totally assured that the US wasn’t going to deploy troops. And I’m fairly positive the Europeans feared that the US was going to take that step.
We love sanctions and Trump loves tariffs, and we’re utilizing them not solely in opposition to adversaries, however in opposition to allies. Noel, that’s the distinction, proper? Is that we’re threatening our allies, and since the US is so fast with the set off, we are able to’t be trusted that we’re not going to make use of drive.
It appears like we’re barreling towards one thing on this second. Trump’s Board of Peace, at this juncture, is that this minor bid to exchange the United Nations. We’ve talked in regards to the worldwide norms which might be being upended. What do you suppose we’re barreling towards?
What’s unnerving is that it actually does appear to be one particular person inside this administration that has a variety of say about the place we’re headed.
However the query is: How far is the administration keen to push this? And my concern, Noel, is that [bombing] Iran [in June 2025] was a profitable operation. No less than, they’ve bought it as that. The specialists say, “No, we didn’t denude the nuclear capability of Iran for that lengthy,” however [the Trump administration] sees it as a victory.
After which secondarily, Venezuela was fast and soiled, proper? We bought in and we bought out.
These mini successes could embolden them just a little bit extra. And the query is: How are our allies going to reply? And we see how they’re responding; they’re uniting. They’re saying, we’ve bought to maintain this collectively as a result of the US is no longer a dependable accomplice. They really feel as in the event that they’re preventing for that Western liberal order and that Ukraine is the entrance line.
After which the adversaries — the Russian Federation and China — what classes are they taking from this? China below President Xi is form of thumping [its] chest and saying, “I’m the large boy within the room,” proper? “We’re steady. We’re not going to make use of drive.” After which Putin is taking a look at this smirking, considering, “Nice, if the US can get away with these shenanigans, then I can too” — proper?
We’re in form of a Wild West state of affairs. And the query is: How are they going to reply to it?
