WORLD
New Guard, Old Challenges
Bulgarian political scientist Ivan Krastev recently wrote that President Donald Trump has made a “laughingstock” of the US. “Nobody could blame Russian, Chinese or Iranian leaders for thoroughly enjoying what they saw on Jan. 6 as a mob incited by the president ransacked the Capitol,” he wrote in the New York Times.
Whether one agrees or disagrees with Krastev’s assertion, President-elect Joseph Biden has his work cut out for him as he seeks to change some of the perceptions of the US that have developed abroad over the past four years, especially in much of Europe.
Even before the vandalism in Washington, Biden would have needed to hit the ground running, argued former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt in the Washington Post. Bildt said that Trump was hostile to the European Union and NATO, friendly to Russia and inelegant in his dealings with China. Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by President Barack Obama and Biden, as well as exited the Paris climate accord, the World Health Organization and other United Nations organizations.
Still, some believe that Biden should keep some elements of Trump’s foreign policy. Georgetown University international politics professor Charles A. Kupchan says Democrats “should be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater.”
“…Trump has been heading in the right direction by downsizing the nation’s military commitments in the Middle East and pulling back on foreign trade,” he wrote in an opinion piece. “Biden would be wise to follow Trump’s lead when it comes to ending the nation’s forever wars and standing up to China on trade.”
Regardless, Biden has pledged that the US will resume its traditional role as the preeminent nation on the planet, CNN reported. He intends to first rebuild America’s alliances with Europe, Japan and other democracies.
Penning an essay in Foreign Affairs, Biden called for a Summit of Democracies where leaders could discuss why authoritarianism appeared to be on the rise while protesters were roiling countries like the US and France, far-right groups were gaining ground in Germany and illiberal leaders reigned supreme in formerly communist nations like Hungary and Poland.
The big geopolitical question is whether the US has the power to change anything.
The Chinese economy, perhaps not coincidentally, is now predicted to outgrow the US in 2028, or five years earlier than previously forecast, in part because of China’s superior response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“For some time, an overarching theme of global economics has been the economic and soft power struggle between the United States and China,” said a British think tank, the Centre for Economics and Business Research, in a report cited in the BBC. “The Covid-19 pandemic and corresponding economic fallout have certainly tipped this rivalry in China’s favor.”
The US has also allowed foreign nations, including not only Russia but also allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia, to influence American elections, Politico wrote. The US might need to clean house and address such issues before venturing abroad, the magazine said.
A changing of the guard will occur this week. Managing change will be the new guard’s top challenge.
Dear Readers,
In recognition of the Inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden this week, we’re devoting the next few days to examining the foreign policy issues facing the new administration and how it might handle them.
Your DailyChatter Team
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