The rapprochement between the State of Israel and the United Arab Emirates, only the third country in the Middle East to normalize relations with Israel, is another of the very visible and often underplayed foreign policy successes of the Trump administration.  In the field of foreign policy, the president's approach has certainly led to many successes thanks in part to his brand of conservative realism, from which America has benefited greatly.

Conservative realism is a term long in use, which gained prominence during Rand Paul's run for president during the 2016 election cycle.  In a speech given at the Center for the National Interest's annual dinner on October 23, 2014, Senator Paul used the term in an attempt to broaden the Republican base.  By outlining a strong foreign policy based on American interest and restraint in military action abroad, he advocated a union between the two great foreign policy views within the conservative movement in America: the conservative internationalist and the conservative non-interventionist.  This has found its manifestation in the current Trump administration.

In the field of international relations theory, realism remains among the most influential of the schools of thought that try to explain the realities of the international system.  This theory, which can be traced to ancient Greece, has several core elements.  The first and undoubtedly the most important is that state actors are the primary unit within the international relations system.  This system is anarchic, meaning there is no power above that of the state.  Third, states act in a rational way protecting their self-interests, and finally, the desire for power in the name of the preservation of the state.  If one looks closely at some of the actions of the current administration, they have a lot of realist tendencies.

An example is what has been dubbed the "Trump Doctrine," which means acting unilaterally outside international organizations.  Trump's America First strategy puts the state front and center, using its military and economic might to pursue America's interest.  Another aspect is withdrawing from certain international agreements that the administration believes do not serve America's interest, such as President Obama's Iran deal.

The Trump administration's realism is also seen in the expansion of America's military power, particularly to counter the expansion of China.  During past years, the Trump administration has expanded the U.S. military budget, along with the creation last December of a new branch of the armed forces called the U.S. Space Force.  The expansion of a security structure is designed to contain America's enemies and maintain its role as the world's superpower.  Furthermore, his at times erratic pronouncements have forced America's allies, particularly NATO and Japan, to begin taking more responsibility for their own defense by expanding their military power.

These are some of the actions that can be seen through realist thinking.  But there is still the conservative aspect to Trump's actions.  This is seen in his use of the cardinal virtue of prudence in respect to military action.  Despite the warnings made by haters of the president that his presidency would lead to more military intervention, Trump is noted for not leading a war-weary America into another major conflict.  Despite a scare created by the operation to kill Qassem Soleimani, this administration has downscaled U.S. military action, particularly in the Middle East.

These are signs of a conservative foreign policy based on not only prudence, as seen with the lack of notable military action, but also a clear rejection of the universalist ideas found in internationalist and liberal political philosophy that seek to extrapolate to every part of the world their ideas of rights and democracy.  This rejection a clear break with past administrations, which wanted to expand America's values around the world, with a more measured policy that realizes communities have a different set of values which they prioritize.  Thus, we are seeing the end of the policy of nation-building.

This conservative realism being pursued by the Trump administration is a welcome development.  The end of costly wars and unnecessary military and state actions are the marks of a conservative realism that seeks a stronger nation but realizes that America's best interests are not necessarily achieved by being the policeman of the world.

Ojel L. Rodriguez AKC (@ojelrodriguez) is head of philosophy and ideology at the Orthodox Conservatives think-tank, a freelance writer, and a Ph.D. student at The University of Saint Andrews.

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