Foreign policy is the guiding force of how governments interact with one another. It is the study of how a government’s military, economic, and cultural power can be used to promote its interests and values. Diplomacy is the most visible branch of foreign policy, involving interactions with other nations through embassies, consulates, and international organizations. It is the work of diplomats to formulate and carry out the policy aims of a nation, whether through negotiating trade agreements, settling disputes, or addressing global issues. In the past, foreign policy also included the use of military force in response to an armed invasion or other provocation. Many of history’s great military leaders have been skilled diplomats as well, and many diplomats have been credited with averting or deescalating wars that might otherwise have resulted in conflict.
The central issue for America today is how to turn its unquestioned power into influence. It faces a host of challenges around the world: humanitarian crisis and conflict exacerbated by climate change; adversaries who seek to expand their power; autocrats who threaten democracy from within and without; new technologies that amplify or compound existing threats.
Among the most difficult of these is dealing with China. Biden’s preference for negotiation over confrontation with Beijing might seem wise to American companies doing business in the country, or to political realists who see little wrong with working out a way to coexist with another great power. But it leaves him vulnerable to criticism from a substantial swath of Americans who view the country’s relationship with China as either weak or appeasing.