About this session

Bert De Vroey has been following American politics for 25 years and unravels the signals and indications for Washington's new foreign policy. First as a reporter for Radio 1, travelling to Africa and Brazil, later as a journalist for the VRT news service where he specialized in the US. In the book The colors of America, Bert bundled his insights into diversity in the US.

During the 3-course delicious dinner, Bert will dive deep into current world politics - Geopolitical Overview: Europe, USA and the World. The American voter has spoken and has given Donald Trump a second chance and a second term. During his first term in the White House, Trump already showed that he was not a fan of NATO and the European Union and that he views relations with foreign countries from a predominantly business perspective: alliances and cooperation must yield something for the US.

During his second term, president Trump has succeeded in making this transactionalism the leading principle of his foreign policy. He managed to pressure several powerful countries or trading blocks (EU) into accepting new trade deals and tariffs. He made his transatlantic allies pledge to ramp up defence spending. He agreed to keep supporting Ukraine, but only after a deal about its mineral resources and European funding. Furthermore, Trump also seems to settle for diplomatic solutions or outcomes that are based on positions of power and strength, and much less on international agreements and justice. But even then, he hasn’t always been able to be the succesful peace-broker he claims to be. 

So what more should we expect from this Trump presidency, and how fundamental are the changes he seems to bring about in the world economy and the international political order? Will other big powers try to act as a counterweight to the US, and will they be able to do so? And will principles and ideals like democracy, the rule of law and the international rules-based order survive this second term of Donald Trump in the White House?