= Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System =

'''Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System''' (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818325101057) was written by Stacie E. Goddard and Abraham Newman in 2025. It was published in ''International Organization'' (vol. 79).

The authors argue that the lenses of a Liberal International Order (LIO) or a Westphalian system are no longer applicable. They point to several current world leaders that defy these world orders--[[Turkey|Erdoğan]], [[India|Modi]], [[Hungary/ViktorOrban|Orbán]], [[SaudiArabia|Mohammed bin Salman]], [[China/XiJinping|Jinping]], [[Russia/VladimirPutin|Putin]], and most recently [[UnitedStates/DonaldTrump|Trump]].
 * Sovereignty is not respected.
 * [[PoliticalScience/Institutionalism|States and NGOs]] as the units of analysis are insufficient to understand their politics.
 * Policies weaken the state's own capacity/security/power, which is certainly incompatible with a [[PoliticalScience/Realism|realist model]].
   * Best examples are Trump's threats against [[WorldHistory/NorthAtlanticTreatyOrganization|NATO]] and its members.
 * 'Divine right' dogmas and exceptionalism are the bases for legitimacy.

Instead, the authors argue that there is a resurgence of patrimonial states and personal rule. They introduce the term ''neo-royalism''.
 * Cliques are the units of analysis. This term is selected to purposefully avoid the monarchial implication of 'dynasty'.
   * These center on someone with unrestricted authority; not necessarily the ''ex officio'' head of state.
   * They are vertically integrated; the powerful sectors which enable rule are integrated. Historically, think of the banking families that were tied to the [[WorldHistory/CatholicChurch|Vatican]], the [[Austria/Monarchs#Habsburg|Habsburgs]], etc. Modernly, think of the big tech corporations that control communications and commerce.
   * Authors quote NYT: "[[Vietnam|Vietnam’s]] government sees Mr. Trump’s administration and the Trump Organization as one".
 * Cliques compete for hierarchical/relative advantage.
 * Cliques extract value for their in-group, not for the state.
 * Institutions which defy the legitimacy of cliques are denigrated, esp. the [[WorldHistory/EuropeanUnion|EU]].

"Signaling the importance of inter-clique status, the [[Canada/MarkCarney|Canadian prime minister]] took the rare move to invite [[UnitedKingdom/Monarchs#Windsor|King Charles]] to deliver a 'speech from the throne in Canada,' something that [[UnitedKingdom/Monarchs#Windsor|Queen Elizabeth]] did only twice in her reign."

The challenges to neo-royalism as a world order comes from:
 * the aforementioned institutions which defy the legitimacy of cliques (again, esp. the EU); and
 * world leaders which have embraced neo-royalism in domestic governance but stand to lose from the disappearance of the LIO, esp. Jinping



== Reading notes ==

A further corroborating detail about 'inter-clique status': https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj69d89l8l5o



----
CategoryRicottone CategoryReadingNotes