Coercion as rationality: the discursive construction of economic punishment in Donald Trump's foreign policy | Coerção como racionalidade: a construção discursiva da punição econômica na política externa de Donald Trump

Abstract

This article analyzes Donald Trump’s discourse on economic sanctions and tariffs from a poststructuralist perspective, examining how punitive practices are constructed as legitimate and recurrent responses in United States foreign policy. It argues that such practices do not operate merely as specific responses, but as part of a discursive rationality that structures expectations regarding behaviors and responses considered acceptable within the international system. Based on the analysis of public statements and digital posts, the article identifies three central discursive operations: the construction of causal chains between action and response; the depoliticization of decision-making, through which coercive measures are presented as natural or self-evident responses to particular forms of conduct; and the diffusion of disciplinary reach, which extends the field of address beyond immediate targets. It argues that this set of operations contributes to the normalization of economic coercion as an ordinary practice in international relations.