Biden’s Two-Year Report Card

In only his first two years in office, U.S. President Joe Biden has presided over the most transformative phase in U.S. foreign policy in decades. He has led a massive effort to push back on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, built new alliances in the Indo-Pacific, and renewed engagement with global efforts on climate policy. Biden and his team have brought a renewed seriousness to U.S. foreign policy.?

But that doesn’t mean all of his efforts have been successful. In fact, some—such as the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years—have been disastrous. To help us assess Biden’s term at the halfway mark, Foreign Policy asked 20 experts to grade his performance across 10 foreign-policy topics.

In the second half of Biden’s term, one of his enduring challenges will be negotiating a path forward with China. So why does most of Washington think negotiation isn’t the answer at all? On the occasion of a landmark biography of George Kennan , the father of engagement, Michael Hirsh considers the lessons from the last Cold War that can be used to avoid a new one with China. Is cold war all but inevitable? “One thing is certain,” Hirsh writes. “We won’t know for sure unless serious diplomacy is attempted.”—The Editors

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What to Expect From Russia’s Looming Offensive

Jan. 26, 2023 | 11 a.m. ET

Alongside land war in Europe, increased tensions between the United States and China have caused alliances to shift. With new players on the rise and geopolitical interests changing dramatically, FP reporters will share what they’ve been hearing from key global players. For the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war and a look at what’s to come in geopolitics, join FP’s executive editor, Amelia Lester, and FP’s team of reporters for a timely conversation.

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Biden’s Foreign-Policy Report Card

Feb. 1, 2023 | 12 p.m. ET

Two years into his first term, how has Biden fared on foreign policy? Is there a clear Biden doctrine? Is the United States in a stronger or weaker position globally? The answers depend on whom you ask. Join FP’s Ravi Agrawal for a lively debate about the Biden administration’s foreign-policy successes and failures halfway through his first term, with Stephen Wertheim, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Nadia Schadlow, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former U.S. deputy national security advisor for strategy during the Trump administration.

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Exercise Your Mind

The German government announced on Tuesday that Boris Pistorius would replace whom as Germany’s defense minister?

1. Annalena Baerbock
2. Christian Lindner
3. Don Farrell
4. Christine Lambrecht

You can find the answer to this question at the end of this email. Click here to take the rest of our weekly news quiz. FP subscribers can sign up to be notified when new editions are available.

Latin America’s New Left Meets Davos

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, may seem a strange destination for delegations from Latin America’s newly inaugurated leftist governments. But the slow-growing region could benefit from foreign investment, and the event—where billionaires comfortably mingle—is a chance to court financing for their ambitious policy plans.

Top officials from Colombia and Brazil were among those who made the Alpine trip, with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, once a guerrilla in subtropical Bogotá, bundling up in a plaid scarf to greet the Swiss snow. The center-right presidents of Ecuador and Costa Rica were also in attendance.

Petro’s speech at a political leaders’ panel on Wednesday—delivered in a tone that seemed more calibrated for a convention of leftists than bankers—stressed his desire to green Colombia’s economic model. Meanwhile, in an interview with Reuters, Colombian Finance Minister José Antonio Ocampo announced that his country aims to rally Latin American governments to agree to a corporate tax deal that is more far-reaching than one brokered in 2021 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Continue reading FP’s weekly Latin America Brief.

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FP Virtual Dialogue: Freeing the State

Feb. 9, 2023 | 11 a.m. ET

The world has witnessed an unprecedented backslide in democracy as autocrats have gained influence and reverted the number of democratic nations back to Cold War-era levels. Left unchecked, this poses grave risks not only to nascent and established democracies but to the legitimacy of democratic governance. How are we able to stem this decline and ensure democracy’s future? Join Foreign Policy in partnership with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems as we convene experts and leaders across civil society, policymaking, and media to address this urgent crisis.

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Answer: 4.) Christine Lambrecht. Pistorius takes office as Berlin’s defense policy undergoes a Zeitenwende, or epochal shift. Emily Tamkin explored the term in our roundup of 2022’s biggest geopolitical words.