On Thursday, Feb. 12, Carleton’s United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) and Alexander Hamilton Society (AHS) hosted a panel titled “Evaluating International Politics One Year Into Trump.” The panel was moderated by UNA-USA co-presidents Lejla Mehmedovic ’27 and Grace Enz ’26, along with one of AHS’s presidents, Shea Kozel ’28.
The event featured three of Carleton’s Political Science professors, Dev Gupta, Alfred Montero and Tun Myint, who explored the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term and its impacts on international politics thus far. Specifically, the moderators centered the discussion around the loss of U.S. soft power, political realignment across the globe and the future of the liberal international order.
Each professor brought a unique perspective grounded in their specialized area of study. Gupta’s work focuses on European politics, especially nationalism and political extremism. Montero’s specialty lies in comparative politics and political economy, with a strong focus on Latin American politics. Finally, Myint studies environmental policy and democracy, specifically Southeast Asian studies. UNA-USA and AHS aimed to bring together diverse areas of expertise to foster a well-rounded, well-informed discussion of pressing international political issues.
“This is a transformative presidency,” Myint said when asked about Trump’s second term so far. Although only a little more than a year into this term, Myint emphasized the deep-rooted institutional shifts brought about by Trump’s presidency.
“What we see is a turn away from multilateralism, a reassertion of spheres of influence as a natural and preferential organizing structure, weaponization of interdependence, which we see with the use of tariffs as political weapons and not a coherent trade policy,” Gupta said. “We’re in a transitional moment.”
According to the professors, this transition has been most visible in the shift away from the perceived value of the U.S.’s soft power, which refers to a nation’s ability to influence other nations through attraction rather than through military or economic persuasion (hard power).
“The United States has been using both hard and soft power since the Nixon administration,” Myint said during the talk.
However, the professors emphasized that the nation’s soft power has been in massive decline during the second term of the Trump administration. Gupta explained that over the past year, “the U.S. has lost a lot of soft power as well as institutional knowledge and relationships.”
“The destruction of USAID, for example, undid decades of capacity building and access that will take years to rebuild,” Gupta said, referring to the United States Agency for International Development, which aimed to provide international humanitarian aid. USAID merged its remaining operations with the State Department on July 1, 2025, following a six-month wind-down period.
The professors shared the sentiment that this loss of soft power will create lasting structural shifts.
“Some of these [structural rifts] will be destructive and even nihilistic, maximizing the world implications of the mixture of extreme politics and new technology,” Montero said, referring to dramatic changes in institutions and structures. He added that the Trump administration’s “vision is entirely and unapologetically self-serving and transactional.”
Gupta agreed and said, “Those shifts will not suddenly reset if U.S. policy shifts back. Reputational repair will be difficult, especially as allies look to reduce their vulnerability to the U.S.”
She went on to elaborate on how Trump’s presidency on a global scale is “pointing to a realignment…in terms of people, in terms of parties, in terms of government.” Additionally, she warned that “parties of the radical right see Trump’s reelection as a vindication.”
However, this is where a critical difference between international right-wing extremists and the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement must be noted. Gupta made this distinction, pointing to the global backlash that occurred when Trump declared he was trying to acquire Greenland, “these radical right parties aren’t MAGA, they are nationalists.”
“The world is seeing that the United States is not a reliable ally,” Montero said. He added that this transition is one of gravity, as the fraying of democracy domestically comes with international questioning of the U.S. as the global hegemonic power and, further, the future of the liberal international order.
“The U.S. under the Trump Administration does not want to lead an alliance of western liberal democracies committed to a liberal international economic and political order,” Montero added. This surfaces a broader point: what exactly this liberal international economic and political order will become in the future years of the Trump administration.
“The U.S. is seen as an unreliable player,” Gupta said. Montero also raised a question surrounding this new reputation of the U.S. on a global scale: “How does this give us leverage that is sustainable? The jury is still out.”
During the talk, the professors provided their perspectives on possible changes to the current domestic and geopolitical situation.
“What is the vision of the U.S. that we want to see? It has to be defined and the leadership has to rise from that area,” said Myint when asked about the future of the United States’ democracy.
“It is even more important now than ever before to hold onto the moral and ethical principles we all grew up with; to respect and love other people and the communities in which we live,” Montero said.
“We should think about what aspects of the old order — human rights, interdependence, rule of law — we want to retain and develop further,” Gupta added.
Ultimately, the panelists’ commentary argued that Trump and his administration’s handling of international politics is unreliable on both the domestic and global scales. All professors mentioned that while some of his policies may be reversible, the structural shifts of Trumpism will have long-lasting effects on the international policy landscape.
“In such moments of global uncertainty, I turn to the local. How can I serve my students and my community better, bringing my best ideas and my most positive energy?” Montero said. “It is essential for Carleton students to keep their minds open.”
