(De)coding ‘America First’: Trump's contestation of international institutions and its consequences

Abstract Donald Trump's second term in office is causing considerable concern about the future of the liberal international order. Many observers fear a repetition—or even an escalation—of the ‘America First’ policy which in his first term saw numerous instances of contestation of international organizations and agreements. This article takes stock of contestation during the first Trump administration (Trump 1.0) and its varying impact on international institutions. Drawing on insights from recent scholarship and a comprehensive dataset of 41 instances of Trump 1.0's contestation of 24 institutions, the article finds that: 1) Trump contested institutions in various ways; 2) Trump escalated contestation when the US lacked influence within institutions; and 3) the challenged institutions proved largely resilient to Trump's attacks. International institutions can once again withstand Trump's contestation when their bureaucracies and powerful member states find the right balance between appeasement and providing alternative leadership.