America Alone or America the Globocop?
April 17, 2026
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
118 Elliot
118 Elliot St Brattleboro VT 05301
The United States has bombed Iran and intervened in Venezuela. These policies contrast sharply with the earlier promises of Donald Trump that verged on isolationism. When he was running for a second term, Trump pledged to avoid costly wars and focus on U.S. domestic problems. With these military actions as well as his much-hyped peace deals, is the president resurrecting an earlier U.S. aspiration, which began with Teddy Roosevelt, to become the “world’s policeman”?
The answer, John Feffer argues, lies in the definition of “policeman.” There are good cops, and bad cops. And Donald Trump has long had an affinity for the latter, for police officers who break the law rather than uphold it and profit from their positions of power.
What impact is Trump’s version of globocop having on international law and the rules-based order? Are there any effective global responses? And once Trump leaves office, will an international reset be possible?
John Feffer is the director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC. He is the author of a number of books, including Crusade 2.0, The Pandemic Pivot, and Right Across the World. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Forbes, Newsweek, The Nation, and many other publications.
