The Dangers (and Opportunities) of 2018: Views From the Democratic Sideline

Foreign-policy veterans from the Obama administration on what to hope for and fear in Trump's second year.

 U.S. President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 30. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) 

By FP's Shadow Government contributors-February 5, 2018, 12:25 PM

As Donald Trump crossed into the second year of his presidency, a number of publications have taken looks back at his first year in office. Foreign Policy is no exception. Elephants in the Room asked a number of its regular contributors to name one good thing and one bad thing about Trump’s foreign policy in 2017. We at Shadow Government are taking a slightly different approach (in part because looking back at that first year tends to give us all heartburn). Instead, we’ve asked our team to look forward and identify one big danger and one big opportunity for the White House in 2018. Readers should know up front that the list won’t leave them feeling overly optimistic. In fact, most of the Shadow contributors feel like the United States got lucky in 2017; despite growing global anxiety and uncertainty, the administration managed to avoid any major foreign-policy crises. In his State of the Union address last week, Trump touted a narrative of progress but went light on policy. When pressed, even the most pessimistic Shadow contributor still offers up at least one area where the current administration could actually produce a real win — if it’s willing to follow our practical prescriptions.

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