Donald Trump Uses Madman Theory to Reshape Global Order

President Donald Trump is employing a foreign policy strategy known as the madman theory, using calibrated military actions and threats to extract diplomatic concessions. In the Middle East, Trump has deployed an aircraft carrier toward Iranian waters to pressure Iran into ending its nuclear program and limiting ballistic missiles, following a June 2025 U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear sites. He has further demanded the full disarmament of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon as prerequisites for peace.

Beyond Iran, Trump has threatened to withdraw economic support from Iraq to prevent Nouri al-Maliki from becoming prime minister and is coordinating a gradual military withdrawal from Syria through a partnership with President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

On the global stage, Trump has challenged the rules-based world order by unilaterally applying tariffs and redefining the Monroe Doctrine to target Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for trial in the U.S. The administration has withdrawn from over 60 international agencies, a move Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended as a rejection of wasteful bureaucracy. During the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump warned allies that the U.S. would remember those who do not comply with its wishes, prompting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to emerge as a critic of this exercise of unrestrained power.