A breakdown of trust: Trump, Europe and the transatlantic security community

Abstract

Serious transatlantic disputes are not something that was introduced by Donald Trump, for example, in the wake of the 2003 Iraq War, but the challenge posed by the Trump administration to the transatlantic security community is unprecedented. Donald Trump’s foreign policy led to a significant breakdown of trust toward the traditional leader within the alliance. The analytical framework of this chapter aims to define and specify the role of trust and mistrust among partners. The empirical part of the chapter examines how Trump’s ‘America First’ doctrine undermines the notion of common transatlantic values and the predictability of US behavior. The increase of mistrust toward the United States translates in hedging strategies and symbolic rejection of US authority by European members within the security community.