Empire‑Builder Foreign Policy

Trump’s diplomacy is best understood as an extension of his business and property‑empire instincts: transactional, reputation‑focused, and oriented toward turf and deals rather than liberal principles like human rights or institutional rule. This logic can produce policies that look inconsistent to liberal foreign‑policy frameworks — neither classic restraint nor liberal interventionism. — Framing state action as 'empire‑builder' changes expectations about alliances, coercion, trade, and when the U.S. will use force, shifting debates from ideology to incentives and asset logic.