Is Joe Biden’s Foreign Policy Platform Relevant?
By: Savannah Wallace
Tags: Elections, USA, Government, Joe Biden, Politics

ANALYSIS

Is Joe Biden’s Foreign Policy Platform Relevant?

Biden wants to return to a US-led world order. But for voters and allies, the US must make up for its past mistakes before it can lead.

Former Vice President and Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden delivers a foreign policy address at the City University of New York last year. (Photo Credit: Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times)

“Diplomacy…requires credibility and Trump has shattered ours. In the conduct of foreign policy, and especially in times of crisis, a nation’s word is its most valuable asset. By pulling out of treaty after treaty, reneging on policy after policy, walking away from U.S. responsibilities, and lying about matters big and small, Trump has bankrupted the United States’ word in the world.” — Joe Biden

In an article for Foreign Affairs magazine detailing his 2020 foreign policy manifesto, Joe Biden is optimistic about the US’s capacity to lead the world order again. During his presidency, he wants to re-enter agreements the US left shortly after Trump entered office (e.g. the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Paris Climate Accords, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran). He will prioritize action on climate change and make environmental sustainability one of the US’s foreign policy tenets. And he says he is committed to promoting democratic values and institutions abroad. These policies would mark a return to a more traditional type of American foreign policy stance that values multilateralism (e.g., participating in alliances, international organizations, and treaties).

Although President Trump’s approval ratings are waning in the US, the isolationist orientation he promoted during his election and presidency is popular. Prominent liberal and conservative political figures now disapprove of American intervention abroad and believe that the US’s trading relationships are unfair. Most Americans agree with these isolationists. In the Foreign Affairs article, Biden reframes American foreign policy with a weary public in mind — to mixed results.

Biden also addresses the skeptics: American allies. Treated particularly badly by the Trump administration, allies learned that they do not need American support on the world stage over the last four years. Many countries are also willing to help preserve democracy and free markets within the international order. Trump hurt the US’s international credibility, so why should an ally work with a recently unreliable nation when they could partner with a predictable one? Biden knows and mentions that improving the US’s reputation will be one of his most important tasks while in office. But how can Biden convince nations to work with the US once again?

Global Change Starts at Home

“My administration will equip Americans to succeed in the global economy — with a foreign policy for the middle class.” — Joe Biden.

Biden directly connects most of his foreign policies to the outcomes of domestic policy. He notes: “As a nation, we have to prove to the world that the US is prepared to lead again.” He doesn’t sidestep the moral responsibility he believes is required to lead the world for his apathetic audience but does describe domestic social and economic policies at length. Biden argues that the Trump administration’s policies around immigration have dirtied the US’s image and that he would reverse them on January 21st. The federal election system and campaign financing are also critiqued, as he warns of potential foreign meddling in elections. Domestic issues certainly affect American foreign policy, but they were included to broadly remind voters about Biden’s platform. Biden’s social policies are also frequently contrasted with Trump’s in the article.

The Vice President’s explanation of his “foreign policy for a middle-class”, essentially an equitable approach to international trade, does a much better job of selling his foreign policy strategy to Americans. Biden focuses on promoting innovation in STEM and funding R&D projects for AI development to improve the US’s competitiveness in key industries. Achieving these goals will require domestic investments in infrastructure and job-training. American politicians commonly appeal to the middle-class, but mentioning job-training, in particular, helps market this idea to the American people. Americans are regularly told that middle-class jobs, usually in manufacturing, are moving to China. Job-training that leads to employment in in-demand sectors of the economy may help people realize that international trade benefits workers, particularly those who provide services.

Siding with the anti-interventionists, Biden also advocates for ending America’s participation in “forever wars.” He states that military force should be used as a last resort — diplomacy should be relied upon as the US’s first line of defense. The Biden administration will recruit more people to work in the diplomatic corps. But the American people are not as motivated by Biden’s emphasis on diplomatic engagement as they are about getting out of Middle East-centric conflicts for the first time in decades. So he asserts that if the US does get involved in overseas conflicts, it will only send over small-scale missions of around 100 troops. The past couple Presidents’ commitments to pull troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan were largely unsuccessful. Biden will also face difficulty in the Middle East. But by providing specific examples of how American engagement will evolve, Biden makes sure the American people and policymakers can hold him accountable.

The Biden foreign policy strategy is generally appealing, particularly on the military and trade fronts. Many Americans are likely to support the platform, not because of the personal importance of a particular issue but because the strategy as a whole is ideologically coherent. Americans, particularly the anti-Trump contingent, want there to be some semblance of consistency and normalcy in Presidential policy-making. If the President doesn’t make America look worse, that’s something to support.

Then-Vice President Joe Biden participates in the United States Military Academy West Point’s 2012 Commencement Ceremony. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

The Future of Democracy Is Unclear

“The triumph of democracy and liberalism over fascism and autocracy created the free world. But this contest does not just define our past. It will define our future, as well.” — Joe Biden

The Biden manifesto not only channels old-school foreign policy but alludes back to the Cold War. Biden characterizes the proliferation of populist, authoritarian rule throughout the world as a threat to the United States and its allies. To a smaller extent, China and Russia are singled out as the central proponents of the authoritarian movement. Biden believes that democracies must again embrace the ideological purpose that helped them bring down the Iron Curtain in Europe. The message is clear: liberal, democratic values are currently under threat.

To Biden, US leadership is not needed to guide the world into the future but to protect free nations from another emerging ideological conflict. He characterizes the US as the best historical example of how democracy can help build diverse, inclusive, and prosperous societies. The Biden administration will organize an annual Summit for Democracy, where participating nations will brainstorm about how to strengthen democratic institutions and confront democratically backsliding countries. The US will promote democratic leadership worldwide and work with partners to get democracy “back on the global agenda” (i.e. create incentives for authoritarian countries to adopt democratic principles). Because the ideological motivations described are quite similar to the US’s Cold War doctrine, Biden points out that the US’s 70 years of experience at the head of the table on democracy promotion make it well-suited to continue leading the fight.

According to the manifesto, environmental action will also drive the US’s relations with democratic nations. Biden commits to carbon-free electricity by 2035 and carbon-free emissions by 2050, in addition to adopting an emissions cap this decade per the terms of the Paris Accord. However, climate change is not described as a reason to embrace American leadership. In countries where rising seas pose a real threat, or where there have already been significant emissions reductions, American leadership in this area would not make much sense. The US still produces 15% of the world’s CO2 emissions.

Are allies likely to follow the US’s lead? It depends. If there is continued Chinese or Russian interference in democratic elections, a collective response from democracies is warranted. As a victim of one of the most egregious foreign influence campaigns, the US would be an excellent advocate for free elections on the world stage. If authoritarian-driven misinformation spreads across the Internet, democracies may band together to stop fake news. But if authoritarian suppression mostly occurs within these authoritarian countries’ borders, free nations will likely confront these nations individually rather than with other democracies. Despite what Biden implies in this piece, a Cold War is not nigh. It is still in democracies’ interests to pursue closer economic relations with authoritarian countries to reform these countries.US-China relations might be extremely strained at the moment, but the American and Chinese economies are well-integrated. The US still has the leverage to pressure China. Until the authoritarian threats supersede the economic benefits of partnership, the free world does not need to fight for democracy just yet. The US should work on an equal playing field with allies to promote democracy and stop the trend of democratic backsliding, but it does not need to lead. Perhaps these free states need a year or two to ensure that the US will be as cooperative as it promises.

Conclusion

Biden’s foreign policy platform presents smart — albeit hopeful — solutions to the critical problems facing the US in the world post-Trump. The Biden Campaign selectively incorporates some non-interventionist positions into a policy that is decidedly for American engagement with the world. But this policy does not help convince voters and allies that American world leadership is necessary and essential. Biden and his Presidential successors will need to completely get out of foreign conflicts and make the benefits of trade more perceptible to the lower and middle classes for Americans to start viewing US leadership as essential. Achieving these results will require systemic change that may take years or decades. It will also take years for the US to regain allies’ trust after dealing with Trump’s erratic behavior. The US cannot expect to be quickly given back the reigns to the world order. It must reconcile — it must cooperate with its allies to promote democratic norms within the UN and other international organizations. And the US must allocate funding to maintaining its international alliances. Only then can US leadership be accepted.