Populist Paranoia and International Law

Abstract

This chapter examines American populism in relation to international law with a focus on the administration of Donald Trump. While populism has been a regular influence in American political life, it has not always been overtly hostile to international legal norms in the fashion of the present administration. Earlier forms of populism (such as those of William Jennings Bryant and George Wallace) opposed political and economic elites but were not overtly hostile to international norms. Rather, the current populist movement is not exclusively anti-elitist in the fashion of traditional populism but is rather better understood as a form of political paranoia. By defaulting to the posture that international laws are contrary to American interests, the Trump administration has effectively cast doubt on all international agreements and obligations that were not ratified by the president himself. Such a paranoid disposition better characterizes and explains the administration’s international legal posture than does either traditional anti-elitist populism or traditional conservative realism and exceptionalism.