Donald Trump assumed office in January 2017, committed to revamping US foreign policy and putting ‘America First’. The clear implication was that long-held international commitments would be sidelined where, in Trump’s view, the American interest was not being served. NATO, in the crosshairs of this approach, has managed to ride out much of the criticism Trump has levelled against it. Written off as ‘obsolete’ by the American president, it has fared better in the Trump era than many commentators had predicted. NATO exemplifies a tendency in US foreign policy, which pre-dates Trump, where open criticism stops short of abandonment. This pattern has continued since 2017 and indicates a preference for voice over exit. As such, it suggests that Trump’s foreign policy is not always as illogical as many have assumed. Logic is borne of institutional context: Trump has chosen to articulate voice where institutionalisation makes exit unviable. Institutional resilience in general and NATO’s case specifically has a wider relevance, both for transatlantic relations and international order.

中文翻译：

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特朗普的外交政策和北约：退出和发声

唐纳德·特朗普于 2017 年 1 月上任，致力于改革美国的外交政策并坚持“美国优先”。明显的含义是，在特朗普认为没有满足美国利益的情况下，长期持有的国际承诺将被搁置。北约以这种方法为目标，成功地克服了特朗普对其提出的大部分批评。被美国总统写为“过时”，它在特朗普时代的表现比许多评论员预测的要好。北约体现了美国外交政策中的一种趋势，这种趋势早于特朗普，在这种趋势下，公开批评不会放弃。这种模式自 2017 年以来一直在持续，表明人们更喜欢语音而不是退出。因此，这表明特朗普的外交政策并不总是像许多人认为的那样不合逻辑。逻辑源于制度背景：特朗普选择在制度化使退出不可行的情况下表达声音。总体而言，机构弹性和北约的情况具有更广泛的相关性，无论是对跨大西洋关系还是国际秩序。