미국 우선주의에 대한 소고 -미국 예외주의 전통에서 본 Trump 행정부의 국제법관-

A Thought on the America First Foreign Policy –Trump’s Perspective on International Law in Reflection of the American Exceptionalism –

How shall we understand the America First Foreign Policy in terms of international law? Considering America’s influence on the international legal system, the unique foreign policy of America cannot be disregarded. This paper will not delve into a legal analysis of each controversial agendas proposed by Trump. Rather, it will take a historical take, especially in the American Exceptionalism tradition. The paper suggests that if Trump’s foreign policy is understood within the framework of American Exceptionalism, the unintelligible approaches of the Trump administration in relation to international law could be comprehensible in part. Acknowledging that other approaches could be taken, the framework of exceptionalism provides distinguishable foreign policies in the American history. Exceptionalism is a threat to the international legal system as it claims exemptions from the international legal system while establishing double standards. Intriguingly, the American Exceptionalism was proposed and accepted from its early history of American colony filled with a religious motivation of idealistic mission. In this paper, it will be pointed out that there are two different kinds of American Exceptionalism: Unilateral and Multilateral Exceptionalism. It will further be narrated that the unilateral approach was prevalent in the 19th century while multilateral one was introduced and accepted in the 20th century. However, America seems to be searching for its “identity” after the end of the Cold War. The different reinterpretations of Exceptionalism seem to manifest such aspect, and Trump seems to be one of them.