Author: Tom McTague
Affiliation: The Atlantic
Organization/Publisher: The Atlantic
Date/Place: November 8, 2020/USA
Type of Literature: Article
Word Count: 2426
Link: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/11/joe-biden-america-world/617016/
Keywords: Joe Biden, European Politics, America’s Relationships
Brief:
The writer argues in this article that the international community has become more stable, after the end of the US elections, the victory of Joe Biden, and the removal of Trump from the political scene. Almost everyone agrees that serious questions about America’s role in the world will not disappear just by ousting Trump. World leaders see that the old policy is over and that an era of confrontation between European politics and American policy has begun on major issues such as climate change, trade, the crisis in Belarus, Turkey defending its rights in the Mediterranean, and the management of destruction in Lebanon. It is not a new American policy, but began with the Obama era and reached its climax in the Trump era; and, the world cannot ignore that Biden was the Vice President during Barack Obama’s presidency. Therefore, the danger does not lie in Trump’s policy alone, but rather the new general policy of the United States of America. This has prompted the European leadership to think about the importance of independence from America, as was clear and explicit in several statements by European leaders, such as French President Emmanuel Macron. Britain likewise has its own set of potential issues with the Biden administration that pervaded a particular concern in Downing Street during the Obama administration, due to the perceived lack of rewarding Britain’s loyalty. Germany has been one of the biggest supporters of European independence from the US, largely due to the profound shift in public attitudes there, as well as its increasing reliance on access to the Chinese market. The American empire was born under the Truman creed of “to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures,” and was strengthened after World War II when countries sought the help of the US due to the weakness that afflicted Britain when it was no longer able to protect many countries, such as Greece, from the influence of Moscow. But in the author’s opinion, the US’ status as a security guarantor for Europe and Asia is facing many questions, given its division at home and the relative economic decline. This question is directed not only to the American administration, but also to the American people. In the author’s opinion, America’s allies do not have such an alternative that was provided in the 1940s when the British weakness occurred.
By: Taqwa Abu Kmeil, CIGA Research Assistant
