Japan and the Crisis of International Multilateralism

With the beginning of the second Trump administration, it is becoming increasingly obvious that multilateralism is in crisis. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the functioning of several international organizations such as the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and his advisors have begun promoting a foreign policy rooted in the ideology of “America First. [1]” Stewart Patrick, senior fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, warns that “his ambition is to replace the international rule of law with the law of the jungle. [2]” Power politics is now a more prominent feature of current international relations. Patrick adds that “rather than a global order that constrains great power privilege, he envisions a regionalized one in which powerful nations pursue spheres of influence and throw their weight around, browbeating lesser actors (like Denmark and Panama, say). [3]” The risks posed by the current Trump adm