Is Biden’s Foreign Policy Grade A Material?

More than 30 experts grade the U.S. president’s first year of foreign policy.

NICOLÁS ORTEGA ILLUSTRATION FOR FOREIGN POLICY

 PUBLISHED JAN. 20, 2022

Is America back? U.S. President Joe Biden came into office vowing to reset the United States’ standing in the world and repair ties with its allies after its tumultuous Trump era. But his first year in office has been rocked by a series of foreign-policy crises—from Kabul to Kyiv—that have thrown a wrench into the president’s “America is back” agenda.

Biden has tried to repair relations with U.S. allies in Europe, but those efforts have been overshadowed by renewed Russian aggression toward Ukraine. U.S.-China relations have continued to deteriorate as Biden’s administration takes a hard-line approach to its superpower rival. Biden’s fateful decision to pull the plug on the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan, ending a 20-year war, erupted in chaos and precipitated a massive new humanitarian crisis as the Taliban took control of the country. His efforts to tackle climate change have hit hurdles in Washington thanks to partisan gridlock. And all the while, the COVID-19 pandemic continues its deadly march around the world as international vaccine rollouts fail to live up to early promises.

Is Biden’s Foreign Policy by Thavam Ratna