Diplomacy 101 from Joe Biden
Joe Biden gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal after his sojourn to Georgia and Ukraine. I wouldn’t characterize his remarks as "diplomatic": The reality is the Russians are where they are. They have a shrinking population base, they have a withering economy, they have a banking sector and structure that is not likely ...
Joe Biden gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal after his sojourn to Georgia and Ukraine. I wouldn't characterize his remarks as "diplomatic":
Joe Biden gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal after his sojourn to Georgia and Ukraine. I wouldn’t characterize his remarks as "diplomatic":
The reality is the Russians are where they are. They have a shrinking population base, they have a withering economy, they have a banking sector and structure that is not likely to be able to withstand the next 15 years, they’re in a situation where the world is changing before them and they’re clinging to something in the past that is not sustainable.
If Biden was just shooting the breeze off the record, I’d be hard-pressed to disagree with anything in the quotes. I’m pretty sure, however, that part of "smart power" is not being gratuitously insulting to fellow members of the nuclear club. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll take this kind of dumbass statement personally.
Don’t take my word for it, though — take Joe Biden’s:
It is never smart to embarrass an individual or a country when they’re dealing with significant loss of face. My dad used to put it another way: Never put another man in a corner where the only way out is over you. It just is not smart.
The word "stupid" has been thrown around a lot this week, but I think it applies pretty well to Biden’s language.
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
More from Foreign Policy

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?
The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World
It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.
Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing
The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.