The newly released American National Security Strategy signals a sharp return to a familiar pattern in US statecraft. The Trump administration appears to be embracing a hemispheric focus, justified by the apparent need to shield the US from global turbulence, while at the same time pursuing contradictory approaches abroad. Although this strategic document has been presented as a forward-looking blueprint for navigating a complex world, its underlying logic reaches back two centuries to the Monroe Doctrine.

In 1823, President James Monroe declared the Western Hemisphere off limits to European interference. Though framed as a defensive posture, this historic doctrine laid the groundwork for decades of US expansionism, especially in Latin America under Theodore Roosevelt. The Trump administration's new National Security Strategy places heavy emphasis on curbing migration and drug trafficking. It also aims to exclude outside powers (China) from establishing strategic influence in South America, thus echoing the........

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