Diplomacy and International Politics

In his first 100 days in office, President Joe Biden has already addressed many challenges and fulfilled many promises: recommitting the US to the Paris Climate Agreement firsts and foremost, extending the New START Treaty, developing an extensive national vaccination plan, and introducing the American Rescue Plan. On April 22nd and 23rd, Biden invited 40 heads of state to a climate summit. What about global challenges and conflicts? Where do we stand after Biden's first 100 days and what lies ahead? What role will the transatlantic relationship and Germany play in the coming years for the new US Administration? Which of Europe and Germany's expectations for the new US President have been fulfilled, and which areas have been disappointing? [translated from German; interview in German]

What goals has the Biden-Harris administration set and what steps has the administration taken in the first 100 days to achieve them? How is the fight against the pandemic going? Will the stimulus package successfully restore the economy? And will the new administration succeed in uniting a divided country? Upon taking office, President Joe Biden proclaimed, "America is back." How has he shaped his foreign, climate and migration policies? What role are America's allies playing? [translated from German; interview in German]

Russian President Vladimir Putin is warning the West. In his State of the Union address, he announced that he would react swiftly and harshly if provoked by other countries. Relations between Russia, the US, and the EU are strained, and there are several points of contention: the conflict in Eastern Ukraine and Putin's actions against his imprisoned critic, Alexei Navalny. 

How can the so-called East-West conflict be defused? What hope is there for normalization of the US-Russia relationship under President Joe Biden? [translated from German; interview in German]

The USA has elected a new President. Will the German-American relationship improve considerably under Joe Biden? What lessons can we learn from our nations' shared histories? [translated from German; interview in German]

“Finally, the US is standing up for itself after four years of not doing that,” says Nicholas Burns, a former US ambassador, about the dual diplomatic crises with China and Russia facing the Biden administration. “I think it’s been an important week to reposition the US.”

Exchanges promote the best of American values. They build U.S. influence and help spread democratic ideals around the globe, strengthen economic and trade interests and provide a unique window into what makes the United States a singularly distinct and exceptional country.

The new president’s vow to restore the trans-Atlantic alliance is welcome, but Europeans want a more balanced relationship, with more dialogue and less diktat.

Hate speech, racism, and a divided society. Former US President Donald Trump left behind many problems that a new human rights policy has to face. A conversation with the German-American political scientist Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook. [translated from German; interview in German]

Ambassador Nicholas Burns, Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, talks to Becky Anderson about Joe Biden's foreign policy vision, and what would be a smart next move for the U.S.

Ambassador Nicholas Burns, former top official and ambassador at the State Department, joins Andrea Mitchell today ahead of President Biden's visit to the State Department where he plans to deliver a speech laying out his immediate foreign policy agenda. Amb. Burns says. "I think President Biden's visit to the State Department today is a powerful signal of his support for the United States building up its capacity in diplomacy which we didn't see under four years of Donald Trump."