The narration of status in far-right populist foreign policy: the United States of Trump 2.0

Fuente: Zenodo
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Leslie, Wehner
Format: Recurso digital
Published: Zenodo 2026
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866901578562142208
author Leslie, Wehner
author_facet Leslie, Wehner
contents <p>This paper focuses on how, during his second mandate, far-right leader Donald Trump tells a story of his nation as having been disrespected in the recent past by national elites and global ones, while the leader and their close circle have the mission to repair that status as part of United States foreign policy (i.e. respect for the status of the US). When narrating a better future, Trump travels to a remote national past to show the possibility of reinstating US stature in the international. While constructing that better future, Trump also starts to unfold a foreign policy story of success to cement the brighter future in a retrospective way given this future has purportedly been previously lived in a more remote national past. Relied on here is symbolic interactionist role theory, strategic narrative analysis and the notion of ‘heartland’ from populism scholarship; this paper also contributes to the study of narratives of roles and populism in the field of foreign policy analysis by engaging with the IR notion of ‘status’. Taking an interpretative analysis approach, this case study shows how far-right leaders like Trump can conceive and play the status or master role of their states in foreign policy via strategic narratives.</p>
format Recurso digital
id zenodo_https___doi_org_10_1057_s41268-026-00370-3
institution Zenodo
language
publishDate 2026
publisher Zenodo
record_format zenodo
spellingShingle The narration of status in far-right populist foreign policy: the United States of Trump 2.0
Leslie, Wehner
<p>This paper focuses on how, during his second mandate, far-right leader Donald Trump tells a story of his nation as having been disrespected in the recent past by national elites and global ones, while the leader and their close circle have the mission to repair that status as part of United States foreign policy (i.e. respect for the status of the US). When narrating a better future, Trump travels to a remote national past to show the possibility of reinstating US stature in the international. While constructing that better future, Trump also starts to unfold a foreign policy story of success to cement the brighter future in a retrospective way given this future has purportedly been previously lived in a more remote national past. Relied on here is symbolic interactionist role theory, strategic narrative analysis and the notion of ‘heartland’ from populism scholarship; this paper also contributes to the study of narratives of roles and populism in the field of foreign policy analysis by engaging with the IR notion of ‘status’. Taking an interpretative analysis approach, this case study shows how far-right leaders like Trump can conceive and play the status or master role of their states in foreign policy via strategic narratives.</p>
title The narration of status in far-right populist foreign policy: the United States of Trump 2.0
url https://doi.org/10.1057/s41268-026-00370-3