Author: William J. Burns
Affiliation: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Organization/Publisher: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Date/Place: July 14, 2020/ Washington DC, USA
Type of Literature: Analysis
Word Count: 2842
Link:https://carnegieendowment.org/2020/07/14/united-states-needs-new-foreign-policy-pub-82295#comments
Keywords: The United States of America, Foreign Policy, Retrenchment, Restoration Reinvention.
Brief:
William J. Burns calls for a new US foreign policy which is beyond the dichotomy of retrenchment and restoration. US foreign policy, in his view, needs instead a ‘reinvention’ of its role and priorities. Burns overviews the global landscape with consideration to the ramifications of the pandemic by referring to the US’ complicated position, China’s ambition to benefit from the global situation, Russian weakness, Europe’s hesitant position between these global actors and internal troubles, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America’s worsening status. He claims that the US must choose from three alternatives in shaping its foreign policy: retrenchment, restoration, and reinvention. Burns provides a brief statement for each approach based on its view of American priorities, influence, and threats, then argues that American foreign policy should lie between retrenchment and restoration; i.e., neither being self-interested with less consideration for the global environment, nor going abroad extensively could be the best solution for the current periods of transition. Burns proposes that the US is in a real need to “reinvent the purpose and the practice of American power,” which could “balance between ambitions and limitations.” Accordingly, he assigns three priorities to shape the reinvention of the American foreign policy. First, American foreign policy should enhance domestic renewal which means that foreign policy should be drawn with keeping the well-being of Americans in mind. Second, a “grand global challenge” should be a priority for American foreign policy, or what can be called a “new multilateralism” approach, which is the only way to solve international problems that cannot be unilaterally handled. Third priority is to define a “greatest geopolitical challenge which is managing competition with China.” In Burns’ view, the US is not capable of hindering the rise of China considering its economy and capacity but the US with the cooperation of its allies can draw the outlines and structure the environment through which China rises. Based on that, he recommends that the next administration should reinvent its new foreign policy based on these three priorities, invest in new partnerships and alliances, and develop new tools for its international engagement.
By: Yomna Süleyman, CIGA Research Assistant
