Berger Urges Unity, Resilience, and Strategic Clarity for Taiwan
In a featured interview for the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation with Jamie Yang, Thomas Berger, Professor of International Relations at the Pardee School, characterizes the current moment in Washington as highly uncertain, shaped by what he describes as an unprecedented, transactional approach to foreign policy under President Donald Trump.
In this environment, Berger argues that U.S. partners, particularly Taiwan, must rethink how they communicate their strategic importance. Rather than relying solely on appeals to shared democratic values or long-term geopolitical interests, he emphasizes the need to frame potential crises in ways that resonate with Trump’s personal and political priorities, while also engaging a wide network of policymakers, journalists, and scholars to help shape how such situations are understood in Washington.
Berger also outlines three key principles for Taiwan as it confronts mounting pressure from China: unity, strength, and engagement. He stresses the importance of maintaining domestic cohesion and continuing diplomatic engagement even amid tensions. At the same time, he underscores that material capabilities alone are not enough, emphasizing the critical role of strategic clarity and political mindset. As Berger explains,
You need to invest in your self-defense, you need to be able to be resilient to face up to pressure… but without a mindset, without clarity of purpose, all the weapons in the world will not help—you need both.
The full feature can be watched here.
Thomas Berger is a professor of international relations at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. He is the author of War, Guilt and World Politics After World War II, Cultures of Antimilitarism: National Security in Germany and Japan and is co-editor of Japan in International Politics: The Foreign Policies of an Adaptive State. His articles and essays have appeared in numerous edited volumes and journals, including International Security, Review of International Studies, German Politics, and World Affairs Quarterly. To learn more about Professor Berger’s academic contributions, visit his faculty profile.