Trump: Anomaly or Herald of a New Geopolitical Order? Towards a hypnocratic geopolitics?

Open Access
Authors
  • Simon Dalby
  • Jo Sharp
  • Xiaobo Su
  • Ernest Toochi Aniche
  • Takashi Yamazaki
  • Jaime A. Preciado Coronado
  • Igor Okunev
  • Reece Jones
Publication date 2026
Journal Geopolitica(s)
Volume | Issue number 17 | 1
Pages (from-to) 49-84
Organisations
  • Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG) - Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR)
Abstract
The aim of this discussion forum is to understand whether the Donald Trump administration in the United States is an anomaly in the geopolitical order that emerged after the Cold War or whether it heralds a new geopolitical order. Currently, global power is characterized by a profound transformation in its forms and actors. There is no longer a single geometry of power based exclusively on the hegemony of great powers or on the classic struggle for territorial spheres of influence. Instead, we are witnessing the coexistence of multiple geometries—territorial, digital, financial, and logistical—that are constantly intertwined and reconfigured. The United States, China, Russia, and the European Union remain central actors, but their capacity for control is limited by global interdependence, the emergence of middle powers, and the influence of non-state actors, such as corporations, international organizations, and social movements. The resurgence of nationalist and protectionist policies, exemplified by the "America First" doctrine and the imposition of tariffs, has weakened the rules-based liberal international order and fostered more open competition for strategic resources and areas of influence. However, globalization, digital networks, and transnational flows of capital, information, and people challenge the rigidity of borders. So, has conflict intensified over cooperation in the current geopolitical order? Or are we definitively witnessing an irreversible transformation of the geopolitical order, even though the geometry of global power remains open and uncertain?

Document type Article
Language English
Published at
https://doi.org/10.5209/geop.109944 (Final published version)
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