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When it comes to the economy, ‘madman’ antics could backfire on US
Some leaders pretend to be irrational to gain an advantage in negotiations. But the tariffs ploy will hamper growth everywhere.
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The trade policy of the Trump administration is an example of the madman theory applied to economic policy – probably for the first time by the US.
PHOTO: AFP
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In international relations, there is a strategic concept called the “madman theory”. It refers to a leader deliberately acting irrationally and unpredictably to gain leverage in negotiations. The idea is to threaten reckless and extreme measures to force concessions from adversaries.
During the Vietnam War of the 1960s and 1970s, then US President Richard Nixon is said to have acted this way, encouraging his aides to make the North Vietnamese enemy believe he would do something crazy, to pressure them to engage in peace negotiations. The Nixon tapes later revealed that he told his national security adviser Henry Kissinger: “I want the North Vietnamese to believe I’ve reached the point where I might do anything to stop the war.” Eventually, there were peace negotiations, so it could be argued that the madman theory worked in this case.
