Rethinking Global Responsibility: Moving Beyond U.S. Dominance in Humanitarian Aid to Collective International Engagement

This paper analyzes the changing contours of U.S. foreign policy dynamics, especially the strategic turn away from long‐standing humanitarian aid provided now through USAID during the Trump administration. The U.S., traditionally, has operated as the world’s nice guy—providing aid to stabilize the world order and promote soft power. Yet the paper challenges the savior-only model by proposing a new relationship that tilts the focus toward security cooperation, economic diplomacy, and multilateral partners. Utilizing qualitative policy analysis and descriptive case study research (in the form of the U.S. response to the Myanmar earthquake of 2025), the paper illustrates that a reduction in assistance does not necessarily undermine U.S. power. Instead, it opens the field to rising powers such as China to take their own, more global, development role, forcing a fundamental rethink of American strategy. In the end, the paper promotes a collaborative, accountable model where countries lead their own development and use their resources more efficiently.