Bruce Russett, Professor of International Relations and Political Science, Ph.D. Yale University, 1961, is Dean Acheson Research Professor of International Relations and Political Science at Yale. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has honorary doctorates from Uppsala University (2002) and Williams College (2011). He held visiting appointments at Columbia, Michigan, North Carolina, Harvard, the Free University of Brussels, the Richardson Institute in London, the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, the University of Tel Aviv, and Tokyo University Law School.

In an interview we have discussed with him the motivation, implications of recent executive orders signed by President Donald Trump, and the potential international backlash against them, as well as, many pertinent issues, and he answered our questions as the following:

• First of all what do you make about the recent executive orders that have been signed by Mr. President Donald Trump?

- Well they sound very confused and confusing, anyway it is clear that the current administration is not friendly to immigrants from many, not all, Arabic and Islamic countries, or Islamic majority countries, let us put it that way. And I think frankly it is particularly unfair in case of Iraq, where there are so many Muslims who have cooperated with Americans, and they would be potential or already real targets of ISIS folks. That is unacceptable.

• In your perspective these executive orders are driven mainly and primarily by what?

- I don’t know, I think president Trump is certainly playing to an audience that unfortunately is receptive to broad limits on refugees out of a mistaken fear that these refugees would be in fact terrorists in disguise. That seems to me the motivation, but it is very hard to decode what the President Trump’s motives are.

• Do you think that these executive orders are incompatible with democratic principles or even American constitution?

- I am not a constitutional lawyer, but it is a strange democratic practice to say the least.

• What are your expectations about the international reactions against these executive orders?

- I don’t know, I can’t say, but many countries--your readers probably know--have accepted far more refugees- certainly per capita of country- than the United States, so already the United States has been –shall we say--less generous and welcoming than many European countries. And the European countries are also scared of this, but nonetheless, many of them have taken progressive and generous policies toward immigration, while they have been as careful as they can be.

• What is your opinion about the Mr. Trump’s statement about redoubling American effort to fight ISIS and quickly destroying this terrorist organization?

- That is ridiculous. It will not be destroyed quickly, it is of course not a real state, and the leadership and followers of ISIS are far too many and scattered. So there is no way that he is going to wipe out ISIS with airfare or any other simple strategy.

• Do you agree that the executive orders regarding travel ban against some of the Middle Eastern countries is reinforcing the narrative of terrorist organizations like ISIS?

- I do think it will lead to reinforce what you call the narrative, yes. And that’s a very serious matter.

• So you think that these steps--travel ban--will not strengthen the national interest and security interests of United States?

- That is correct.

• On the Iranian issue, what is your expectation about the approach or the course of action that Trump’s administration is probably going to pursue for countering and containing Iran?

- I don’t know what he is going to do, so I cannot really comment on this. Certainly if he tries to withdraw entirely from the package that was negotiated, all hell might break loose. But I don’t know what he would try to do, and what he would do. This is an unpredictable administration.

• Do you think that Trump’s administration will be more engaged or less engaged in the Middle East?

- Good question, I just don’t know

• But he is not going to adopt an interventionist and transformational approach, and he is not going to pursue the policy of regime change and democracy promotion in the Middle Eastern countries?

-I really don’t know, I really cannot speculate about what the president –so far as he listens to his advisers--would do.