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Biden’s Foreign-Policy Report Card

February 1, 2023  |  On Demand

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An illustration shows US President Joe Biden surrounded by the foreign-policy issues he has faced in his first two years in office.

To mark the halfway point in U.S. President Joe Biden’s first term in office, Foreign Policy asked 20 experts to grade his administration’s performance on relationships with Russia and China, as well as on issues such as defense, democracy, and immigration. The assessments ranged all the way from A- to a failing grade. But more broadly, is there a way to define his administration’s agenda? Is there a Biden doctrine?

FP’s Ravi Agrawal spoke to experts with very different perspectives for insights. Nadia Schadlow was a deputy national security advisor in the Trump administration and is now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. Stephen Wertheim is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a longtime advocate for ending so-called forever wars. Perhaps surprisingly, Wertheim was more critical of Biden’s foreign policy—specifically on China—than was Schadlow. Is that because Biden has largely doubled down on former President Donald Trump’s China policies?

Watch the interview or read the condensed transcript to find out.

Stephen Wertheim explains how U.S. President Joe Biden’s overall foreign-policy vision is a tale of two different Bidens.

Stephen Wertheim explains his concerns over transparency regarding where U.S. objectives in the war in Ukraine lie and how it ends.

Nadia Schadlow breaks down where there are problems in Biden’s handling of the war in Ukraine and where his administration has taken the right approach.

Stephen Wertheim

Senior fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Stephen Wertheim is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Nadia Schadlow

Senior fellow, Hudson Institute

Nadia Schadlow is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former U.S. deputy national security advisor for strategy during the Trump administration.

Host

Ravi Agrawal

Editor in chief, Foreign Policy

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On-Demand from FP Live

Can Ukraine Win a Protracted War?

March 17, 2023

There’s a growing debate among Western policymakers and politicians about the choices they face when it comes to dealing with Russia’s war in Ukraine. For an in-depth military perspective on the options facing Washington and its partners, FP’s Ravi Agrawal sat down with Philip Breedlove, a retired four-star U.S. general who served as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe between 2013 and 2016, a period that included Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

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Is America’s China Policy Too Hawkish?

March 6, 2023

Is the Biden administration’s China policy too hawkish? And how might that be impacting the world? Jessica Chen Weiss, formerly a senior advisor for policy planning at the State Department under the Biden administration, makes the case that the United States is becoming consumed by competition with China, a strategy that could lead to dangerous conflict. 

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Explaining America’s Trade Policy

March 1, 2023

To understand Washington’s part in fostering industrial policy, FP’s Ravi Agrawal sat down with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, the Biden administration’s top official tasked with mapping out and implementing the White House’s trade policy. Tai counters critics who say the United States is fostering unfair competition over semiconductors and clean energy.

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Russia’s War in Ukraine, One Year On

February 22, 2023

This week marks exactly one year since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine. FP’s Ravi Agrawal spoke with two of the very best Russia experts: Angela Stent, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the author of Putin’s World: Russia Against the West and With the Rest, and Michael Kofman, the research program director of the Russia studies program at the Center for Naval Analyses. Watch the conversation or read the condensed transcript. 

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An illustration shows US President Joe Biden surrounded by the foreign-policy issues he has faced in his first two years in office.
An illustration shows US President Joe Biden surrounded by the foreign-policy issues he has faced in his first two years in office.

China, Ukraine, and How Biden Plans to Balance Both

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Can U.S. President Joe Biden really support Ukraine against Russia for “as long as it takes,” as he has pledged? Congressional support for this aid has largely been bipartisan and wide-r...Show more

An illustration shows US President Joe Biden surrounded by the foreign-policy issues he has faced in his first two years in office.
An illustration shows US President Joe Biden surrounded by the foreign-policy issues he has faced in his first two years in office.

Ehud Barak on Israel’s Escalating Crisis

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Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been protesting weekly against their government’s plans to overhaul—and weaken—the country’s judiciary. Several former military officials have ...Show more

An illustration shows US President Joe Biden surrounded by the foreign-policy issues he has faced in his first two years in office.
An illustration shows US President Joe Biden surrounded by the foreign-policy issues he has faced in his first two years in office.

Inside China’s ‘Two Sessions’

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Every year, the top Chinese legislative and advisory bodies meet for two weeks to rubber-stamp decisions already made by the Chinese Communist Party. It’s called the “two sessions,” ...Show more

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