The US pivot towards the Western Hemisphere during Trump’s second term

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14422/metis.i01.y2026.002

Keywords:

The United States, Western Hemisphere, Trump’s foreign policy, Marco Rubio, corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

Abstract

The Western Hemisphere has been the most relevant region for US foreign policy for much of its history. Since the end of the Cold War, however, its relevance has been reduced to areas of domestic interest such as immigration and the fight against drug trafficking. Its renewed importance during the second Trump administration, manifested in documents such as the 2025 National Security Strategy, represents a significant shift that goes beyond its role as a last line of defense in the event of Chinese hegemony in the Indo-Pacific. The aim of this article is to analyze the causes of this important strategic change from a neoclassical realist perspective.

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Published

2026-09-22