U.S. Abandoning Global Leadership After Withdrawal from Climate Pact

By Stewart Patrick

Stewart M. Patrick is James H. Binger senior fellow in global governance and director of the International Institutions and Global Governance (IIGG) Program at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Patrick is the author of the forthcoming book Sovereignty Reimagined: America and the World, as well as Weak Links: Fragile States, Global Threats, and International Security. He also writes the blog, The Internationalist.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords last month was widely denounced as a blow to global climate change cooperation. However, it has also been used by some observers to mark a turning point in President Trump’s vision of American global leadership. The Cipher Brief’s Fritz Lodge spoke with Council on Foreign Relations Fellow Stewart Patrick about what this decision meant for Trump and for the position of the United States as the “indispensable nation.” 

The Cipher Brief: What does President Trump’s decision to leave the Paris Agreement tell you about his approach to international Diplomacy?

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