How current US foreign policy is shaped
When analysing current international relations the important premise is that this is the first time a superpower, the US, is populist – explains in this video Massimo Morelli of the Department of Social & Political Sciences - which has implications in terms of increase in protectionism and in strategic disengagement. Populism is in fact more sensitive to the needs of the medium US voter who tends to be a low-skilled employee, afraid of China imports and of immigration, and thus in favor of protectionism and closure. In general the US’s current tendency is to speak loud and tough but with the aim of leading to negotiations, explains Morelli. This tendency to disengagement can be seen for instance with North Korea since the US medium voter doesn’t have strong interest in what happens in the Korean peninsula.