A look at the guardrails that experts say Washington and its allies should consider erecting ahead of time.

As the U.S. election looms, policymakers and analysts are trying to game out what a possible second term for former President Donald Trump might mean for Washington’s foreign policy—and, by extension, for U.S. allies, multilateral organizations, and global security.

This edition of Flash Points considers how Trump’s unconventional approach to foreign policy could reshape the international order and affect major geopolitical issues, from the war in Ukraine to rising U.S.-China tensions. The following essays offer insight into what institutions, alliances, and governments from Europe to Asia can do to prepare for another Trump White House.

---

Then-U.S. President Donald Trump participates in an arrival ceremony during a visit in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Nov. 12, 2017.JIM WATSON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Then-U.S. President Donald Trump participates in an arrival ceremony during a visit in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Nov. 12, 2017.

The calm in Asian capitals reflects a dangerous misjudgment, FP’s James Crabtree writes.

---

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks to journalists at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

The continent must bolster its own defense capabilities before an isolationist ringleader returns to the White House, Doug Klain and James Batchik write.

---

This photo from 2020 shows then-U.S. President Donald Trump with his mouth open as he speaks to members of the press behind the camera. Both of Trump’s hands are raised, fingers splayed, and he squints at the sun. Trees in the White House lawn and the back of the buildings itself are visible in the background behind him.

Then-U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press prior to departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 23, 2020.SAUL LOEB/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES)

It’s past time to put legal guardrails in place to prevent catastrophe, Adam Mount writes.

---

World leaders are shown walking on a pier by the water.

G-7 leaders arrive for a photo at the Itsukushima Shrine during the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan on May 19, 2023.STEFAN ROUSSEAU – POOL/GETTY IMAGES

This summer’s summit needs to be much more than just a 50th anniversary celebration, Robin Niblett writes.

---

An activist prepares a balloon painted to look like planet Earth and decorated with orange hair and eyebrows in the likeness of U.S. President Donald Trump during a climate protest prior to a meeting of European Union leaders at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany.

A Heritage Foundation report offers a roadmap of sweeping changes, Laura Thornton writes.

Courtesy: Foreign Policy