Inside Trump’s peace plans
US President Donald Trump has focused much of his second-term foreign policy on the idea that he is a peacemaker, and his administration’s 2025 National Security Strategy states that he has been personally involved in resolving eight conflicts within the first eight months of his second term. He has openly campaigned for the Nobel Peace Prize, and he was recently awarded the newly minted FIFA Peace Prize for his “unwavering commitment to advancing peace and unity.”
But what results have Trump’s peace efforts yielded so far—and where do the agreements that the US administration has facilitated over the past months stand today? This series takes stock of Trump’s peace deals across the world, highlights the patterns, tools, and strategic choices that characterize them, and assesses whether they can deliver stability over the long run.
From negotiations with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda to talks with Cambodia and Thailand, several cross-cutting themes emerge. Trump uses economic tools such as trade deals, tariff pressure, and targeted incentives to bring parties to the table and further US interests, while highly visible announcements and signing ceremonies serve to reduce tensions and lock parties into deals.
With this unorthodox style, Trump aims to position the US economy as a driver of cooperation abroad while simultaneously securing domestic wins, such as beneficial agreements on critical minerals. His style produces rapid outcomes and creates political openings that might otherwise be unattainable. However, it also runs the risk of substituting short-term gains for long-term peace.
—Matthew Kroenig is vice president and senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and the Council’s director of studies.
—Bailey Galicia is a program assistant with the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.
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The Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security works to develop sustainable, nonpartisan strategies to address the most important security challenges facing the United States and the world.
Image: US President Donald Trump wears a medal as he is awarded the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize by FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Draw REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
