President Joe Biden came to the White House with the message “America is back” as he promised that diplomacy would take the place of military power, as the main instrument of American foreign policy.
2021 marked significant developments in United States foreign policy. A chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August, widely hailed as President Biden’s first year in office.
Michael Kugelman, a South Asia analyst at the Wilson Center, spoke with VOA via Skype.
“Terrorism has intensified and the Taliban take over has led to sanctions that have put Afghanistan in a deep crisis position, which could lead to mass famine. “The accelerated chaotic American withdrawal is seen as linked to these results.”
The withdrawal is in line with the administration’s objective of reducing military engagement in the Middle East.
But challenges remain, including existing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians as well as stalled efforts to salvage the world powers’ 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. President Trump’s administration pulled America out of the deal in 2018.
After four years of former President Trump’s “America First” policy, President Biden’s message is that “America is back.”
“We will support allies and friends and oppose the efforts of the stronger countries, which are dominated by the weaker ones, whether through forcible border changes, economic austerity, technical exploitation or misinformation. I emphasize that we are not looking for a new Cold War, or a world divided into solid blocks. “
President Biden has defined the dividing line, what he calls the war between democracies and autocracies. He brought together more than 100 countries in December at the Democracy Summit, with the exception of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he met virtually separately, reinforcing a fundamental theme in his political doctrine. external.
Wellsley College political science professor Stacie Goddard spoke to VOA via Skype.
“Global cooperation on complex issues, which requires cooperation with China and Russia, on issues such as climate and pandemics, but on the other hand, adhering to the line that the United States will cooperate with democracies and America is a democratic country. “The United States treats an authoritarian challenge as an important challenge.”
China, currently a major adversary with military power and geopolitical influence, has the upper hand in President Biden’s foreign policy. Russia, another rival, has mobilized tens of thousands of troops along the border with Ukraine.
Andrew Lohsen, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, spoke with VOA via Skype.
“Russia is not a problem to be solved. He is still a leading actor, having conflicting interests with the United States and our European allies. A problem that can not be neglected. “We are looking at the position of the Russian Federation, to remind the United States that Moscow’s interests can not be ignored.”
Another unresolved issue is North Korea, while Washington is not ready to reach an agreement if leader Kim Jong Un does not commit to ending its nuclear weapons program./DW