"The search continues for a framework to make sense of, or at least label, the baffling state of world affairs since Donald Trump took his second oath of office as president of the United States. And now we have a new contender: Neo-royalism. At first and even second glance, I'd say it fits. First, a recap of some of the isms that have clearly failed."
"Narcissism, for instance. It explains much about Trump's leadership: his constant projection of grandiosity and need for flattery, among other things. But other world leaders and American presidents have also exhibited signs of narcissism, and we generally don't name eras after the trait. Enter Stacie Goddard at Wellesley College and Abraham Newman at Georgetown University with their framing of current world politics as neo-royalist."
Neo-royalism frames contemporary global politics around personalist leaders who exercise monarchical-like authority through loyalty networks rather than institutional state structures. Traditional labels such as isolationism, realism, or transactionalism fail to capture the mixture of showmanship, short-term deals, and coercive force that characterizes these leaders. Psychological traits like narcissism illuminate behavior but do not define systemic change. Neo-royalism proposes treating leaders and their patronage networks as the primary unit of analysis. The approach emphasizes how personalization of power reshapes foreign policy, undermines alliances, and produces inconsistent strategic choices across countries such as the United States, Russia, India, and Turkey.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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