INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ISSUES OF THE US FOREIGN POLICY UNDER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

Introduction. The article analyses the foreign policy of the actual US administration in order to determine whether it is based on the commitment to the rule of law in international relations.

Materials and methods.  The scope of sources includes related subject works of foreign and Russian researchers; official documents; public statements and comments given by the US President Donald Trump, as well as by the members of his Administration responsible for foreign affairs – VicePresident, Secretary of State and Minister of Defense. The research covers the period from the beginning of election campaign (June, 2015) to the end of the first year of D. Trump’s presidency (November, 2017). The methodological framework of the article consists of the following methods: general scientific (analysis, synthesis, functional and systematic methods) and special scientific (statistical analysis, event-analysis, content-analysis, modelling, cognitive mapping), as well as specific legal methods (legalistic, comparative legal methods).

Research results. The article results in the evaluation of the actual US foreign policy under international law; as well as in the formulation of a proposal for clarification of the Russian position regarding further cooperation with the US.

Discussion and conclusions.  The main conclusions of the research are as follows. Donald Trump acts in accordance with Layne theory of “the offshore balancing” rather than traditional striving for global predominance. The US President is indifferent towards the principles and norms of international law even when declares the opposite. D. Trump addresses bilateral and multilateral cooperation of the US with the other states, analyzed in the article, in particular in the context of space activities, through the prism of ‘deals’, that is more typical for the Grotian tradition of international law obligations now considered outdated. The worsening of bilateral relations between the US and the Russian Federation, the threat of use of force against North Korea, and the potential non-compliance with principles and norms of international law are all the negative impacts of this approach.

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