The Decline of American Soft Power: What’s Next for the Global Order?

Since his January 20th inauguration, President Donald Trump has advanced an increasingly isolationist approach to international relations. From imposing 25% tariffs on Canada to claiming Ukraine instigated the ongoing conflict with Russia and proposing the displacement of Palestinians as a solution to the war in Gaza, his administration has fundamentally shifted U.S. foreign policy. Once the cornerstone of American global influence, soft power is eroding under the Trump presidency. What does this mean for the future of international diplomacy and trade? How will China position itself as America’s greatest competitor? And where does Canada fit into this shifting landscape?

In today’s episode of Beyond the Headlines, we dive into the implications of declining American soft power and its impact on the global order. To unpack these questions, we are joined by two distinguished experts in international relations and economics.

Janice Gross Stein is the Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management and the founding Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. A leading authority on world politics, she is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a member of both the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario. She was the 2001 Massey Lecturer and an inaugural Trudeau Fellow, receiving the Molson Prize from the Canada Council for outstanding contributions to public debate. With an academic career spanning decades, she has authored eight books and over a hundred articles, with her latest research exploring the intersection of geopolitics and technology.

Dr. Peter Morrow is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Toronto, specializing in international trade and applied microeconomics. His research focuses on U.S.-Canada trade relations, Chinese trade policy, and the broader economic impacts of globalization. He has served as a Senior Researcher for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and as a co-editor for the Canadian Journal of Economics. His work has been widely recognized, with support from Statistics Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Join us as we analyze the evolving global order and what the future holds for trade, diplomacy, and Canada’s role in a changing world.

Produced by: Sadie McIntosh & Daniel Ebrahimpour