"Trump the Tectonic Agent: Redefining Global Power Through Contradiction"

05.16.2025

By Valikhan Tuleshov

Trade agreements and new geopolitical alignments are not just policy shifts—they are signs of texturation, a profound transformation in the structure of international relations. Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Donald Trump, we are witnessing the emergence of Tectonopoly: a transitional phase from postmodernism to texturalism.

Trump is the leading agent of texturation in today’s world. His actions—whether normalizing ties with unconventional actors, reconfiguring alliances, or reshaping trade regimes—reveal the figure of an architect facilitating the transition from postmodern fragmentation to a textured, pragmatic order. He disrupts binary oppositions (good/evil, terrorist/statist, ally/enemy) and introduces a new mechanics of political meaning—dynamic, situational, and non-ideological.

Consider the event in Riyadh, where Trump met with Ahmed al-Sharaa. This was not merely a diplomatic gesture; it signaled a tectonic shift in the ontology of global politics. It transcended the Syrian conflict and reverberated across the Muslim-Arab world. Tectonopoly does not arise from global consensus. It is born from the fusion of contradictions—from the coupling of fragments once thought irreconcilable. This new order is not hierarchical but dense: it textures political space through acts of pragmatic will rather than appeals to normative truth.

This meeting also set a precedent: the legitimization of former radicals and terrorists. It demonstrated that the United States, under Trump, is willing to revise political labels if on-the-ground realities shift. In this framework, Realpolitik Trump’s ideological or moral judgment. What matters is not a leader’s past, but their potential to bring stability and utility.

Previously, I wrote about a different expression of this political meta-realism—for instance, Kazakhstan and the Turkic states’ stance on the Russia-Ukraine war. Their strategic neutrality, maintaining relations with Russia while respecting sanctions, was once conducted discreetly, almost silently, so as not to provoke. Now, under Trump’s influence, such behavior becomes explicit and generalized. Trump is unafraid to forge "impossible" agreements. He may well travel to Turkey to bring Putin and Zelensky to the negotiating table.

In this light, Trump is not a contradiction to the liberal world order. He is a figure of transition—not an architect of a new global design, but a tectonic agent, the bearer of a fundamental shift.

Disclaimer: The article represents a personal opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the Center’s official position.