This paper employs Hilary Putnam’s “Two-Level Game” theory as an analytical framework to examine the political logic and international strategy behind the U.S. foreign economic policies – particularly high-tariff policies – during the Trump 2.0 era, arguing that they represent a “negative-sum game” variant of neorealism. This study first reviews the foundational paradigms of neorealism and the “Two-Level Game” theory. Based on this review, it identifies the core of Trump’s political logic as “domestic politics prioritization” and “hostility toward global order.” It then analyzes how Trump combines Jacksonian populist nationalism with Hamiltonian state capitalism to construct an “inside-out” national strategy. He achieves this by manipulating trade negotiations and institutional arrangements to suppress domestic opposition, thereby reinforcing an uncompromising international stance. In this process, the U.S. gradually abandons positive-sum game logic in global governance, adopting instead a “negative-sum” strategy that harms others without benefiting itself but secures political capital. This behavioral logic signifies a rupture within neorealism, heralding a new phase in international politics characterized by “renationalization” and “functional reversal of institutions.”
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Share and Cite
Gao, H. (2025) Trump 2.0’s Negative-Sum Game: The Beginning of a Defection from Neorealism. Journal of Social Development and History, 1(3), 19-27.