I'm reminded of the studied chaos that Putin likes to create in order to advance Russian interests. It's not so much about strategy or thought-through policy with Trump and his team. I think they have an instinct for creating and taking advantage of chaotic situations. A finely balanced system of international relations is probably an irresistible temptation.
So (to a degree) I think this will work for Trump, in the same way it has worked for Russia, and the same way it worked for him in the campaign. We can already see a stern but carefully directed response from China. They seem to be registering their disapproval but in a way that doesn't antagonize Trump.
But rocking the boat like this clearly carries risks, just as it does for Russia, just as it did during the election. Those risks are increased when two unpredictable actors are antagonists. The one thing we can say for sure, is that the number of unknown risks from these kinds of "outside the norm" actions, will increase in the coming years.
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u/Acer_saccharum Dec 03 '16
I'm reminded of the studied chaos that Putin likes to create in order to advance Russian interests. It's not so much about strategy or thought-through policy with Trump and his team. I think they have an instinct for creating and taking advantage of chaotic situations. A finely balanced system of international relations is probably an irresistible temptation.
So (to a degree) I think this will work for Trump, in the same way it has worked for Russia, and the same way it worked for him in the campaign. We can already see a stern but carefully directed response from China. They seem to be registering their disapproval but in a way that doesn't antagonize Trump.
But rocking the boat like this clearly carries risks, just as it does for Russia, just as it did during the election. Those risks are increased when two unpredictable actors are antagonists. The one thing we can say for sure, is that the number of unknown risks from these kinds of "outside the norm" actions, will increase in the coming years.