Analysis of Trump's foreign and security policy towards Pakistan

Articles in Press

Document Type : مقالات علمی -پژوهشی

Author

Hamid Dorj

PhD in International Relations, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/pg.2025.27318.0

Abstract

Pakistan's geopolitical and strategic location in South Asia has always placed the country at the center of US foreign policy. Since the founding of Pakistan, relations between Washington and Islamabad have experienced many ups and downs, ranging from close cooperation to cold and neutral relations. Accusing Pakistan of harboring terrorist groups, Trump has adopted an approach based on political pressure and imposing sanctions on the country, which has caused a noticeable chill in relations between Washington and Islamabad. From the perspective of the US government, the lack of seriousness required by the Pakistani government in effectively combating terrorist groups has led the White House to reduce and even suspend military and economic aid to the country. In this context, the main question of the article is: what policy is the Trump administration pursuing towards Pakistan? The research hypothesis is that the Trump administration has adopted a punitive and strict approach towards Islamabad for reasons such as Pakistan's lack of sufficient commitment to countering terrorism, concerns about the possibility of Islamist militants gaining access to the country's nuclear facilities, and, on the other hand, weakening and containing its regional and trans-regional rivals, including Russia, China, and Iran. In this regard, the Trump administration's policy of pressure towards Pakistan, as a tool within the framework of US foreign policy, has weakened bilateral relations and reduced the level of political and security cooperation between the two countries. In this study, the research hypothesis is tested by utilizing the theory of aggressive realism and relying on a descriptive-analytical method

Keywords

Trump

Pakistan

security

terrorism

aggressive realism

Subjects

• Political Geography

---