The Madman Theory from Nixon to Trump

Is Donald Trump mad? Or is he a practitioner of the Madman Theory — and therefore not mad at all?

James D. Boys, author of ⁠⁠U.S. Grand Strategy and the Madman Theory: From Nixon to Trump⁠⁠ (amazon.co.uk/US-Grand-Strategy-Madman-Theory/d…), argues that the Madman Theory is not madness, but the performance of madness: a tactic by which a sane leader feigns irrationality to make an adversary believe there is even a one percent chance of overwhelming, disproportionate force.

In this new Conflicted Conversation, Boys explains:

• What the Madman Theory means

• Donald Trump, unpredictability and Trump Derangement Syndrome

• Nuclear strategy, Eisenhower, and Cold War brinkmanship

• Barry Goldwater, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the politics of nuclear fear

• Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger and the Madman Theory in Vietnam

• Trump’s use of Madman tactics against North Korea, Iran, NATO and trade partners

• Whether Trump’s second-term grand strategy is chaos, coercion or calculated geopolitical pressure

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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.

Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.

This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small.

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