THE HEGEMON TRAP: UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY REQUIREMENT FOR A NEW NIXONIAN PIVOT AND RETURN TO REALISM

บทคัดย่อ

This paper presents a comparative analysis of American foreign policy during the Nixon and Trump presidential eras. It argues that both periods are defined by the necessity to recalibrate strategic commitments in response to the exhaustion caused by protracted military interventions. By examining the Nixon framework of détente and triangular diplomacy, the research demonstrates how pragmatic engagement with the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China maximized American leverage during the Cold War. In contrast, the contemporary abandonment of the international arms control architecture and the pivot toward a doctrine of strategic flexibility have created a destabilized multipolar environment. The author argues that the current strategy of confrontation with both Russia and China risks strategic overextension. Drawing on historical lessons from the 1970s, the paper advances an argument for transition away from the orthodoxy of universal containment. It suggests that a measured rapprochement with Russia is essential to address the primary geopolitical challenge of the twenty-first century: the rise of China.