Trumpism not a blip in foreign policy

Transactional diplomacy alienated friends, foes alike

Washington, Jan. 16: President-elect Joe Biden's plan to scrap President Donald Trump's vision of “America First” in favour of “diplomacy first” will depend on whether he's able to regain the trust of allies and convince them that Trumpism is just a blip in the annals of US foreign policy.

It could be a hard sell. From Europe to the Middle East and Asia, Trump's brand of transactional diplomacy has alienated friends and foes alike, leaving Biden with a particularly contentious set of national security issues. Biden, who said last month that “America’s back, ready to lead the world, not retreat from it,” might strive to be the antithesis of Trump on the world stage and reverse some, if not many, of his predecessor's actions.

But Trump's imprint on America's place in the world — viewed as good or bad — will not be easily erased. US allies aren't blind to the large constituency of American voters who continue to support Trump's nationalist tendencies and his belief that the United States should stay out of world conflicts.

If Biden's goal is to restore America's place in the world, he'll not only need to gain the trust of foreign allies but also convince voters at home that international diplomacy works better than unilateral tough talk. Trump has insisted that he's not against multilateralism, only global institutions that are ineffective. He has pulled out of more than half a dozen international agreements, withdrawn from multiple UN groups and trash talked allies and partners. Biden, on the other hand, says global alliances need to be rebuilt to combat climate change, address the Covid19 pandemic and prepare for future epidemics and confront the growing threat posed by China.

The national security and foreign policy staff that he has named so far are champions of multilateralism. His choices for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and foreign aid chief Samantha Power underscore his intent to return to a foreign policy space that they believe was abandoned by Trump.