GRAND STRATEGY AS A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR U.S. FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS IN THE TRUMP ERA.

Grand strategy has long been the framing blueprint for U.S. foreign policy, enabling Washington to mobilize national power, maintain alliances, and guide the international order. Though commonly regarded as continuity from one government to the next, the Trump era placed both durability and contestation for American grand strategy in relief. Trump’s “America First” policy rebranded the engagement-restraint balance, transiting America’s policy from institutionalized liberal internationalism to transactional realism and selective retrenchment. This essay examines grand strategy as a theoretical framework to understand the U.S. foreign policy under Trump’s administration, drawing reference to competing schools of “deep engagement” and “offshore balancing.” It argues that Trump’s regime was not doctrinal chaos or complete rupture but rather a rebalanced reaction to the extended strategic controversies.