Trump’s New 2026 Shock Doctrine: War, Deals and Global Chaos

Abstract

The research paper analyses the 2026 Shock Doctrine as a strategic model of disruption instead of a standard policy road-map, based on the assumption of how forceful diplomacy, transactional bargaining and nuanced crisis augmentation could redefine the international order. Recent changes in U.S. foreign policy indicate more and more reliance on unpredictability as a means of strategic leverage, which questions a long-standing set of multilateral norms and alliances expectations. With the help of a qualitative research design, the study employs discourse analysis and process tracing to policy narratives, policy communications, and policy responses in major power centers. According to the find, shock-based diplomacy increases volatility systemically, promotes asymmetric concession given constrained military ethos, and reformulates deterrence signaling in international systems of security. As much as it exhibits populist tendencies in foreign policy, the doctrine is a well-organized act of strategic disruption, the long-term effects of which might be observed on the cohesion of alliances and stability in the international arena. Enhancing multilateral crisis-management structures and adaptive diplomatic systems is thus needed to reduce the risks of escalation and avoidance of the rules based international order.