US grand strategy and the Madman Theory: From Nixon to Trump explores how U.S. presidents have used calculated unpredictability as a tool of foreign policy
and the dangers that come with it. Richard Nixon pioneered the tactic, projecting a volatile persona to pressure adversaries like North Vietnam and the Soviet Union into concessions, hoping they'd fear he was unhinged enough to go nuclear. Decades later, Donald Trump revived the approach in his own chaotic, improvisational style, leveraging erratic behaviour to keep both allies and enemies off balance. While Nixon's version was tightly controlled and behind the scenes, Trump's was a public spectacle, blurring strategy with impulsiveness. This book examines how both leaders weaponised perception to gain leverage, and what that reveals about power, psychology, and leadership on the world stage. A gripping, timely look at how madness-real or performed-can be a feature, not a bug, in American diplomacy.
By:
James D. Boys
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 203mm,
Width: 127mm,
Spine: 21mm
Weight: 380g
ISBN: 9781526197443
ISBN 10: 1526197448
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 05 May 2026
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Acknowledgements Prelude: Donald Trump: Madman in the White House? Introduction: The Madman Theory 1. The Symptoms of the Madman Theory 2. The Architects of Armageddon 3. Eisenhower, Dulles, and the Nixon Vice Presidency 4. A National Madness 5. Nixon’s Madman Strategy 6. Donald Trump and the Madman Theory 7. Trump 2.0: Return of the Madman Theory 8. The Once and Future Grand Strategy Bibliography Index Notes -- .
James D. Boys is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College, London
Reviews for US grand strategy and the Madman Theory: From Nixon to Trump
'A perceptive, intelligent, and engaging history of the intellectual roots and uses of threats of extreme military force by the Eisenhower, Nixon, and Trump administrations' Tom Wells, author of The Kissinger Tapes: Inside His Secretly Recorded Phone Conversations and Wild Man: The Life and Times of Daniel Ellsberg 'Essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of the last sixty years of American power—and where it’s headed next.' Amie Parnes, Senior Correspondent at The Hill, co-author of Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House and Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the White House -- .
