Biden’s Foreign Policy Mantra: Return to Traditional Alliances
Table of Contents
Biden’s Foreign Policy Mantra: Return to Traditional Alliances : United States President Joe Biden participates in the Leaders’ Climate Summit on April 22, 2021, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. EFE / AL DRAGO / POOL / COMPULSORY CREDIT: AL DRAGO / ONLY AVAILABLE TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACCOMPANYING NEWS (COMPULSORY CREDIT)
Mename
Returning to the traditional alliances of the United States is the mantra that is guiding the foreign policy of the president, Joe Biden, who in his first hundred days in the White House has revitalized the relationship with the European Union (EU), Japan and South Korea to face China, its greatest challenge.
The mark of the first hundred days began to be used to measure the success of a president in the time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945), whom Biden considers a political reference.
In this period, US leaders tend to focus on domestic initiatives with the potential to transform the nation and not on foreign policy measures, but Biden has taken on the mission of restoring Washington’s international image, after four tumultuous years of his predecessor, Donald Trump.
Biden’s worldview is influenced by who he is: He was born in 1942, that is, he is the son of a time when the United States was the hero of World War II, and he grew up in the 1950s, when Washington claimed the role of the West’s guide vis-à-vis the Soviet Union.
For this reason, he believes that the country must assume a leadership position, but at the same time recognizes that it must improve its internal conditions before giving lessons to other nations, analyst James Traub, a journalist for three decades who has spoken, explained to Efe. on numerous occasions with Biden.
The idea contrasts with the formula of “leading from behind” that was associated with former President Barack Obama (2009-2017) and with the “neo-con” movement that encouraged George W. Bush’s interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan (2001-2009).
“Leading with others means that the US now acts as one more partner, but continues to be the driving force behind the initiatives,” Traub explained.
THE PULSE WITH CHINA
An example of this strategy is the sanctions that the EU imposed on China in March for the first time since the Tiananmen massacre (June 4, 1989), in retaliation for alleged human rights abuses against the Uighur population, a gesture to which The US, Canada and the UK were subsequently joined with their own restrictive measures.
That coordination was a strong blow to Beijing, which responded with more sanctions to the community bloc and the United Kingdom.
For Traub, China has emerged as the biggest challenge for Biden not only because of the threat he poses to Washington in the fight for world supremacy, but also because of the effects on their alliances.
Faced with this, Biden has resurrected an entity created in 2007 and called “quad” to articulate with the leaders of India, Japan and Australia a common front against China.
And furthermore, he wanted to make clear his support for Japan and South Korea by making Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and South Korean President Moon Jae-in his first guests at the White House.
RUSSIA, IRAN, YEMEN AND AFGHANISTAN
Besides China, Biden faces many other challenges, including the authoritarian policies of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin; the return to the nuclear deal with Iran that Trump exited in 2018; and the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan before September this year, on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, among others.
In the opinion of John Hannah, a conservative analyst who was an advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney (2001-2009), Biden could face “two disasters” in his remaining term in office.
One would be the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, and the other an offensive by the Houthi rebels in Yemen to end up controlling the entire country.
Those threats are only hypothetical, but in an article in Foreing Policy magazine Hannah recalls that many times presidents do not choose the conflicts they face, so he recommends that Biden be vigilant.
Another of the great challenges could be the relationship with Turkey, a key NATO ally and which Biden has irritated by describing as “genocide” the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire starting in 1915.
LATIN AMERICA, ON A SECOND PLANE
Finally, the relationship with Latin America has taken a back seat, which is not necessarily negative.
It could even be “beneficial” for the continent, where Washington has a history of controversial interventions, Erick Langer, a history professor at the School of Inter-American Relations, told EFE. Georgetown University Nationals.
“When the US has to worry about Latin America, it means that there are very big problems. Their policies are not always in favor of Latin Americans, because in the end the US acts to defend their interests,” said Langer.
The only urgent matter that has required Biden’s attention has been migration from Central America, but with the rest of the countries, including Cuba and Venezuela, he seems interested in maintaining the “status quo.”
