Thursday, in a highly anticipated speech, Joe Biden delivered the broad outlines of his foreign policy. Unsurprisingly, it is a continuation of Barak Obama’s foreign policy and it gives prominence to the current problems facing the United States.
Biden wants to rebuild trust as well as regain leadership in the defense of democracy and rights and freedoms. To achieve this, he intends to rebuild the American economy and restore vigor to the middle classes. It almost echoes Donald Trump’s slogan: make America great again.
Table Of Contents
1. Where do the US international challenges come from?
The United States’ problems stem from a shift that no American leader dares to explain: since the end of World War II, the relative weight of the United States has halved, from more than 30% of the world economy less than 15% of it, in purchasing power parity. The demographic weight of Westerners followed the same downward trend. Western populations now only make up about 15% of the world’s population, up from more than a third 70 years ago. These economic and demographic factors explain the tension between American claims in the international arena and the test of facts.
2. How does Biden want to strengthen American power?
Biden has pledged massive investments in science and technology, especially in applied sciences, so that the United States will regain its competitiveness and be “never matched” by any other country. But Biden’s arguments come from another era. From a time when science and technology were largely dominated by the United States. This is no longer the case. For example, for several years, the United States has fallen to third place in the world among new patent holders. Massive investments in science and technology can help the United States, but not restore it to its former strength.
3. What is Biden’s policy towards China and Russia?
Trump’s clumsy diplomacy has left the field open to China, and it has destabilized other democracies. Biden announced a tough stance towards Russia and China, although he acknowledged that cooperation with China was inevitable in some areas. He announced the comeback of the United States in all international forums, starting with the Treaty of Paris on climate change. But the task will be long and arduous: the US State Department lost about 1,000 career diplomats during the Trump years.
4. What concrete measures has Biden announced?
Biden announced some strong measures. For example, the US government will no longer support the Saudi dictatorship in its heinous colonization of Yemen. Biden also announced that the US military based in Germany would not be leaving, a way of reassuring the allies about the US commitment to NATO.
5. What is the influence of the radical Democratic wing on Biden?
Biden understood that the cohesion of his party required gestures in favor of his radical wing, hence his stand in favor of refugees and LGBT people. For the moment, he seems to have the situation well in hand. One of the dangers his party faces is drifting towards its woke wing. Much like the Republican Party has drifted into its far right wing.