TIRANA, Feb. 22 – Donald Trump has in general sustained and reinforced many of Obama’s foreign policies or followed ones that were already in place, Professor Bernd Fischer told a foreign policy forum organized by the Albanian Institute for International Studies this week.
“There have been no major changes in alliances, but the fundamentals of U.S. foreign policy such as free trade, climate change, democracy and human rights have either been questioned or rejected,” said Fischer, a U.S.-based historian with many publications on Albania.
Addressing the forum on U.S. foreign policy under Trump’s first year of presidency, Fischer described the current U.S. president as ill-suited for the post, noting inconstancies and unpredictability in policies and his America First approach.
“Trump has been fortunate not having to handle with any major crises yet,” Fischer said.
Fischer said Trump has sidelined experts in decision-making and the State Department is facing massive resignations of senior diplomats and dozens of ambassador posts in key U.S. allies still remain vacant.
Asked on the U.S. foreign policy on the Western Balkans, Professor Fischer said the Balkans continues to remain off the radar and that he doubts Trump “will adjust American foreign policy on the Balkans.”
Professor Bernd J. Fischer is a history professor at the University of Indiana and an expert on Albania and the region.
He is the author of several books such as ‘Albania at War,’ ‘King Zog and the Struggle for Stability in Albania,” and the most recent one, “Balkan Strongmen, Dictators and Authoritarian Rulers of Southeast Europe.” He is currently writing a chapter on Albania for a book to be published by the Cambridge University Press and is also working on longer-term projects including a book on the Balkans during the Second World War and a biography of Enver Hoxha.
