In the upcoming US presidential election, foreign policy is set to play a more prominent role than usual, according to Stephen Walt of the Harvard Kennedy School. He argues that while the economy has not been as helpful to Biden as expected, there are few significant successes to boast about in his foreign policy record. In a recent interview on GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, Walt discusses the potential impact of a second term for either Biden or Trump on US foreign policy.
Walt suggests that the differences between Biden and Trump when it comes to foreign policy may not be as stark as some believe. While there are key issues where their approaches differ significantly, such as globalism versus nationalism, he points out that on many other issues, their policies are similar. For example, in China policy, Biden has continued and refined many of Trump’s approaches, particularly focusing on high-tech. However, Walt acknowledges that there are crucial differences between the two candidates in their attitudes towards globalism and nationalism.
Despite potential similarities in outcomes in regions like the Middle East and Ukraine, Walt believes that Trump’s second term could lead to a less supportive stance towards Europe and NATO. He emphasizes that Trump is a nationalist and unilateralist, whereas Biden is more of a globalist and internationalist. This key difference could significantly impact US foreign policy in the coming years.
To learn more about these insights and analysis from Stephen Walt on GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week on gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld or on US public television. Viewers can check local listings for show times.