A Comparative Study Of The Trump Administration And The Obama Administration's Diplomatic Philosophy And Decision-making

Diplomatic concepts,based on a certain world view and outlooks,represent the combination of the ideas and beliefs that are the soul of foreign policy and guidance to diplomatic decisions.Diplomatic decision-making is a process of combining the static factors such as domestic and foreign environment,national political system,leaders with the dynamic procedures such as policy agenda assessment and selection.Political ideas and perceptions of decision-makers have a crucial impact on diplomatic decisions.As we can see that formed gradually under the restriction of its constitutional system,the American diplomatic concepts present as a contradiction of American exceptionalism and universal values and the intersection of realism and idealism.Throughout 8 years of the Obama Administration,he embraced the political philosophy of liberal internationalism,cautiously dealt the force,advocated diplomacy and development as a priority.While he emphasized multilateralism,advocated international cooperation,actively defended the new international order and dedicated to flexible and pragmatic diplomacy with an emphasis of pragmatism and "smart power" diplomacy.Benefited from his unique family background and childhood experience and the liberal diplomatic traditions of the Democratic party,Obama's diplomatic philosophy therefore formed a stable understanding of the political environment within home and abroad.Obama's administration has become the central body of the administration's foreign policy decisions,with the Congress,the Supreme Court,local governments and various social groups partly involved.Since the Trump administration entered the White House,he regarded the "America First" as his political slogan and even the strategic objectives.He advocated the strength of peace,returned to the strategic framework that recognize major power competition as the main,geo-competition as the auxiliary,exhibiting a conspicuous trend toward conservative internationalism.The success of Mr.Trump's career and the transformation of his multiple cross-fields identities have both helped shaping his unruly character and values of fame.Under the influence of the Republican Party's conservative traditions,his diplomatic ideas exhibit a mix of old and new conservatism,deliberately emphasizing both the political influence of the United States and the national interest.The Trump administration's diplomatic decisions are primarily made himself and implemented by the members of the decision-making team that are appointed on the basis of "loyalty".And with a premise of staying tough,it generally presents a pragmatic stance of the conservatives that creates sufficient space.The diplomatic ideas and decision-making of the two governments have commonfeatures,the differences are obvious yet.The common points lay stress on the emphasis of U.S.leadership,internationalism,and factors within the diplomatic decision-making system.While the differences focus mainly on three points as follows.First,they have distinct perceptions in ways strengthening American leadership,the two administrations differ greatly in setting specific foreign policy agendas.Second,their diplomatic decision-making logics are different,mainly in the quick shifts of the strategic focus between major powers as well as the logic of America First strategy.Third,they have different patterns of diplomatic decision-making.The Obama administration's appointments are more flexible and rely on formal diplomatic decision-making procedures,while the "decision circle" of the Trump administration uses "loyalty" as the criterion of appointment,preferring an artistic decision-making model based on his own intuition,in order to establish its own team leadership style and ensure the long-term coherence and stability in his foreign policy.