Volume 121

Populism is receiving growing attention in the political landscape of many countries around the world. Since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, populism has evolved from a fringe ideology into a central force reshaping American domestic politics and international behavior. As Donald Trump returned to power in 2024, his diplomatic shift has significantly reshaped the global political landscape. Meanwhile, international political behavior is not driven by a single external threat but rather by the complex interplay between external structural pressures and domestic political dynamics. Therefore, the paper explores the rise and spillover effects of American populism from a two-level game perspective, tracing the root causes of Trump’s return to victory and diplomatic approach. It argues that the populist resurgence narrows the domestic win-set available to U.S. leaders, constraining foreign-policy bargaining and pushing it toward unilateralism, transactional diplomacy, and the erosion of multilateral norms. The analysis integrates domestic drivers, including economic inequality, political polarization, and cultural anxiety, with international consequences, which encompass weakened alliances, global populist diffusion, and democratic regression. Findings reveal how populism operates simultaneously as a domestic mobilization strategy and an international negotiating constraint. Ultimately, the insight contributes to a deeper understanding of how populist pressures transform the logic of two-level games, seeking to offer important implications for the dynamics of policy decision-making and the international actors’ role in the international order.

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In this study, 86 Chinese pre-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ teacher identities and artificial intelligence (AI) literacy are examined. It evaluated three facets of teacher identity (self-efficacy, beliefs, and career perception) and four facets of AI literacy (perception, knowledge and skills, application and innovation, and ethics) using validated scales. Overall, descriptive findings showed high levels in all dimensions. AI Application and Innovation had the highest scores among AI literacy factors, followed by AI Perception and AI Ethics. In terms of teacher identity, Career Perception came in first. Correlation analyses showed that while general attitudes toward AI had little effect, knowledge of AI, creative application, and ethical awareness were positively correlated with important aspects of teacher identity. The findings highlight the necessity of integrating practical, reflective AI into teacher education programs and the significance of ethical engagement and practical competence in forming professional identity during teacher preparation.

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Since the end of the Cold War, Transatlantic relations have continuously evolved amidst the tension between "ally dependence" and "strategic autonomy." The emergence of European skepticism toward the U.S. and its transformation into political backlash have become key clues to understanding this process. This paper constructs a progressive transmission analysis model comprising four links: Structure – Emotion – Discourse – Policy (the SEDP model), to systematically explain the dynamic mechanism through which European skepticism toward the U.S. accumulates and translates into policy practice in the post-Cold War era. The study finds that structural pressure, through the interaction between elites and the public, and via emotional accumulation and discursive resonance, ultimately drives the formation of countervailing policies. Using typical cases such as France's Cultural Exception policy, the Iraq War, the Snowden incident, and EU defense autonomization as empirical evidence, this paper reveals the theoretical advantages of the SEDP model in explaining the evolution of Transatlantic relations. The research further suggests that future Transatlantic relations may develop along two paths: "Deepening Strategic Autonomy" and "Reconfiguration towards Multipolar Balance." Meanwhile, China needs to respond to the challenges posed by the EU's "de-risking" policy through institutional cooperation and "Third Space Diplomacy," thereby constructing an inclusive international cooperation ecosystem.

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