ABSTRACT
Donald Trump’s “Jacksonian” approach to foreign policy has brought forth debates about future US disengagement from world affairs or even outright isolationism. Even though these debates emerge cyclically throughout US history, they have certain merit in terms of providing a reflection and analysis of contemporary US foreign policy. With President Trump in office, the politics of democracy promotion may thus be absolutely sidelined and the US approach may quickly shift from an active to a passive democracy promoter. This chapter aims to address how the topic of democracy promotion has been taken up by the administration, what budgetary or institutional changes have been made to the “democracy bureaucracy” in the first year of the presidency and, moreover, how the EU has reacted (or will likely react) to these policies.
