9 January 2025

'America First' meets Greenland, Taiwan, and the Panama Canal

Joanna Rozpedowski

As the incoming Trump administration prepares to take office on January 20, 2025, a recalibration of U.S. foreign policy priorities and broader national strategy goals is already underway. Advocates of realism and restraint welcome Trump’s emphasis on a foreign policy that prioritizes pragmatism and “peace through strength” over ideological moralism, even while liberal internationalists fear the effects of “America First” policy on multilateral alliances.

Both sides recognize, however, a need for a prudent shift from crippling foreign policy misadventures and ideational stagnation to a bold U.S. foreign policy vision in all theaters of potential competition.

Among the constellation of apparent global security hotspots, three seemingly disparate locations — Taiwan, Greenland, and the Panama Canal — have emerged as serious contenders in the geopolitical realignment of interstate competition over resources, trade and shipping routes, and political-military dominance, becoming the recent focus of President-elect Trump’s typically boisterous social media posts over the holidays.

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