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Foreign Policy Dilemmas and Opportunities for a New Administration: An Opinion Piece
Author(s) -
Jervis Robert
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
political science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1538-165X
pISSN - 0032-3195
DOI - 10.1002/polq.13033
Subject(s) - administration (probate law) , political science , foreign policy , public administration , political economy , law , sociology , politics
THERE IS A CONSIDERABLE CHANCE that the Democrats will win the presidential election in November and whether one approves of this outcome or not, it is worth thinking about what a new administration’s foreign policy would look like. Although in politics nothing is certain, as the sole remaining Democratic candidate Joe Biden is very likely to be the nominee and I will use the male pronoun when referring to the new president. He probably will bring with him many officials who had previously served him and President Barack Obama, and while the knowledge and experience of this cohort will be a major asset, the counterpart hazard is the impulse to urge policies that mimic or vindicate Obama’s. It is not necessary to deny the considerable achievements of that administration to note that the world now presents the country with new dangers and new opportunities. If there is one thing Donald Trump’s critics and supporters can agree on, it is that his foreign policy has been unusual. This is not to say that it has been consistent: not only does the President himself sing the praises of unpredictability, he has been notoriously unable to discipline both his ever‐changing foreign policy advisers and the civil servants who do so much to carry out foreign policy. Nevertheless, Trump has significantly