Essay – Is President Biden a realist? | Sample Essay
Introduction
Leaders are expected to ensure that they can help in building the communities better. Joe Biden is a well-known leader across the world. President Biden has represented Delaware for over 36 years in the US Senate before he became the 47th Vice President of the country. He has helped in restoring the leadership in America and building the communities better. President Biden has graduated from the University of Delaware and Syracuse Law School. This essay aims at examining if President Biden is a realist or not. For this, there is a need to focus on different instances in the life of President Biden to examine if he is a realist or not.
Joe Biden is often considered to be a realist leader. In many reports, it is considered that Joe Biden Candidacy might divide an existing fractious party. His strategies and approaches in reshaping the foreign policy of America and a need to revaluate America to become a leading country in the world have indicated that he is a blunt, straightforward leader. He has taken many strategies and addressed the US even on the Afghanistan disaster. To achieve the objective of this essay, the focus is on discussing the life of Joe Biden, his approaches as a realist leader, his revised foreign policy, his address to the US for current Afghanistan and finally concluding the essay.
About Joe Biden
Joe Biden is a well-known American politician who is 46th and current president of the United States. He has been a proud member of the Democratic Party. He was born and brought up in Scruton, Pennsylvania and then acquired a law degree from Syracuse University in 1968. He was elected to the New Castle Council in 1970 and then became the youngest senator in US history. Between the years 2016-2019, there were several media organisations that considered Joe Biden as the best candidate for the presidential position in America for the elections happening in 2020 (Godlee, 2020). He was oftenly asked about running the government, but he never gave a direct answer. But Biden was in the race for presidential elections in 2020 since he has a clear sense of duty towards his country and a vision to be the finest leader for getting the best of America in the coming years.
During his leadership in America, he has adopted a realistic approach to address the issues and challenges faced by the country and ensure that the country’s democracy can be restored. He has always supported the War in Afghanistan as he believed to eliminate anything which could be a threat to national security. So, he supported the War in Afghanistan. He indicated that whatever it takes, they should do it. In 2002, he said to Saddam Hussein that he was a threat to national security, and it was crucial to remove this threat. He voted for Authorisation for Use of Military Force Against Iraq in October 2002. Although he was not in the race to be the president of America in last few years but his vision changed, he became the president of the country so that he could use his realist approaches to successfully manage the country’s failed economy.
Biden’s one of the best realist strategies till date is laying out his foreign policy vision for America so that he could restore dignified leadership in the country and respect leadership. He ensured that his policies at home and in foreign countries are attached. He has prioritised areas like security, prosperity, and values of the country, for which, he even took immediate steps for reshaping the democracy of the country (Biden, 2020). This step is taken by Biden to protect the economic future and enable America to address the most urgent challenges in the world. Donald Trump did not do anything good during his tenure for the US and revamping the policies of the country. However, Joe Biden is expected to fix those failures and ensure that this can be managed well by this realist leader.
Biden as a Realist Leader
In his tenure as the president of America, Biden has taken many realist strategies. He has taken immediate steps to cope with the problems in America and fix the damaged economy of America from Donald Trump’s tenure (Biden, 2020). There have been various instances that prove Biden is a successful realist leader. He may have been assumed blunt by many, but his belief is to remove anything which could destroy national security or anything which could affect the economy of America in any way. Realists are loyal to the individuals around them. They work hard to keep their promises and realists are rare. A realist is honest and straightforward with others. Such people expect that other people should also be as realistic as them. Realists believe in following standard procedures which helps in supporting change when there is a benefit expected (Oxford Analytica, 2021). As far as America is concerned, the country is addressing the long-term challenge of ensuring a strong democracy and not compromising on its political values. As a realist leader, Biden has always shown characteristics to shine. Studies indicate that realist leaders can recognise the importance of huge resources in different departments. They can communicate honestly and develop trust effectively by sharing ideas.
Joe Biden has shown traits of being a realist leader always. He established himself as a leader in addressing crucial domestic and foreign challenges across the globe. He was widely recognised for his work writing and establishing Violence Against Women Act (Oxford Analytica, 2021). He established some of the landmark legislations to strengthen penalties for violence against women to effectively manage resources and provide equality to women in the country. Biden played a pivotal role in defining the foreign policy of the country. He addresses challenges and legislation related to issues like terrorism, Cold War Europe, apartheid etc. In all his initiatives, he has always considered people first and tried to manage their problems by providing them solutions in an effective way.
Researchers have indicated that America will become an example in the coming years so that the challenges faced by the country can be addressed under the leadership of Joe Biden (Talukdar, 2021). The challenges faced at the global level including climate change and nuclear proliferation, transnational terrorism etc. can be managed by Biden using his blunt strategies. The tenure of Trump has failed to manage the global issues faced by America. The policies of Trump had been erratic and his democratic principles to manage the position across the world and the inability of the security to cope with challenges have been major priorities for Biden. Hence, Biden’s realist approach is crucial so that he can effectively manage the inability of Trump to manage security and the future. As per Talukdar (2021), Joe Biden has developed a blueprint to cope with the damage, which has been caused by Trump during his tenure and developed a basic course for reshaping the foreign policy of America (Griebie & Immelman, 2021). As a realist leader, he continued to develop his vision as per the need of the situation so that he can bring major changes to the damaged economy of America.
Joe Biden has always believed that democracy would spread across the globe. Human rights of the people should be respected so that there can be proper support, freedom, and respect. He has supported freedom and liberty across the world. Biden has emerged as a realist leader in America and there is a high chance that his beliefs and strategies will reshape America’s economy in the next few years. As a realist, Biden has earned that title by having an appropriate understanding of how America should be managed in the world and managing the capabilities of the US. It is effective to understand that there are certain limits on the strongest country and a need to make interventions that do not make things worse. Biden has a dangerous perspective as he may be assumed to be blunt by certain people. Realism can also be a threat of capability and intent. Although the United States is a safe country when compared to other countries, the economy of America needs appropriate repair which can only be possible by Biden’s approach. Like Biden, President Obama has always governed as a realist. He during his tenure never overreacted to any threats from Ukraine or Syria; rather he took steps that could help the US survive even in toughest situations. He has managed to take steps to rebuild the middle class, which is considered to be the backbone of the country. This can give a chance to the middle class to have access to quality and affordable education. His steps also include investing in the innovative edge of the country including research universities, entrepreneurship and innovation. He also took steps in areas like clean energy, artificial intelligence, high-speed rail network etc. His realist vision is to ensure that he can promote high propensity and democracy with his steps.
The same approach is followed by Biden due to which he is a realist leader. It can be indicated from this discussion that Biden is a realist leader and his strategies have proven to be blunt. Despite his realist strategies, he has always been considered a leader with a clear vision who has huge potential to do something good for America and reshape the economy of the country.
Biden’s Realist Foreign Policy
The realist foreign policy of Biden is one of the finest examples of the leader’s realist vision for his State. The American economic interest of Biden is indicated in the foreign policy. The policy focuses on the economic interest of the middle-class people in America and emphasises on the fact that economic security is national security (Hajarnis, 2020). The American Plan developed by Biden has developed a comprehensive foundation to reshape the domestic economy of America. This has helped in modernising the international trade rules and associated domestic legislations. This is ensured to make sure that America and its allies use their capital to make investment in their own nations. Biden in his foreign policy has also indicated the need for the country to address the global challenges and lead in the world to set an example (Griebie & Immelman, 2021). Some of the global issues that Biden has included in the foreign policy include climate change and nuclear cooperation. Biden also prioritised two key things. One is to become part of the Paris Climate Accord. This is needed to lead a major diplomatic push and increase the country’s climate targets. This is needed to pressurise China. Another key priority stated by Biden in his foreign policy is the renewal of American Commitment towards arms control. As per this, it is vital to re-enter the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, ensuring sustained, coordinated campaign,and pursuing an extension of the new START. The key principle which shaped the foreign policy of Biden was the structural power realities posed by China (Harjarnis, 2020).
In certain instances, like the recent Afghanistan case, Biden was assumed heartless by many but his address to the nation for the country’s current situation was full of realism. He knew that he had to take certain immediate steps so that he could save his country and get rid of anything which is threatening the security of the US. Biden injected a vital dose of realism to shape the foreign policy of America different from the expensive expeditionary counter insurgency projects. In his speech, he was full of deception and cynicism. He also remained bitter with his words, much like that of a realist leader and unapologetic about his address (Harjarnis, 2020). He also refused to acknowledge the sacrifice of Afghani people and did not bother about the humanitarian disaster happening in the country. This was full of a lot of criticism and rudeness. Many critics considered him heartless, but he did not bother and was stubborn on what he believed. His main agenda during the address was to eliminate anything which threatened national security. He considered that this is the time to match expectations with reality and not care about unnecessary things. Overall, his address was realist, cold and straightforward. He also got interpreted as being humane considering the situation. But Biden, being a realist leader, stayed intact on his beliefs. Biden has initiated a process of reexamining the role of America in a new world. He took painful decisions so that he could reshape the democracy of America and reshape the foreign policy of the country.
Therefore, it can be indicated that Joe Biden’s foreign policy proves that he is a realist leader. It is expected that his realist approaches will make America global leader again. America was the finest example of a leader in the world during Obama’s tenure and Biden as the president of America will help the country to achieve the same status again.
Conclusion
To conclude, it can be indicated from this essay that Biden is a realist leader. His current role in America and his stand on cases like Afghanistan have proven that he is a realist leader. He is straightforward in his approach though he might sound rude to many. But he has got a vision for reshaping the economy of America due to which he keeps focussing on the foreign policy effectively. Despite all the finger pointing and blames from others, Biden has managed to be a leader with a clear vision for his country and believe in his strategies. He is clear about the fact that his strategies may be blunt, but these will help in revaluating America and giving new dimensions to the country globally. His foreign policy is an example of how he has prioritised key global issues so that America can be a leader in addressing those challenges in the world. He has taken many other crucial steps to manage the democratic foundation of the country. Biden’s several Summits for democracy for renewing the spirit and bringing together the democracies of the world to make democratic institutions effective. His effective steps have managed to confront the challenges of nations and develop steps to manage threats in the world. In this essay, there have been important things discussed like foreign policy of America which is a clear indication of Biden’s realism and him being a successful realist leader. So, Joe Biden is a realist leader, as analysed in this essay.
References
Griebie, A. M., & Immelman, A. (2021). The personality profile and leadership style of US president Joe Biden.
Godlee, F. (2020). Covid-19: We need new thinking and new leadership.
Harjarnis, A. (2020). Biden’s Realist Foreign Policy. https://thegeopolitics.com/bidens-realist-foreign-policy-a-shift-towards-institutionalism/. Accessed on 6/9/2021.
Immelman, A. (2019). The political personality of former US vice president Joe Biden
Biden, J. (2020). Foreign Policy and American Leadership. https://joebiden.com/americanleadership/. Accessed on 6/9/2021.
Oxford Analytica. (2021). Leadership meeting elevates Quad’s importance. Emerald Expert Briefings, (oxan-db).
Talukdar, S. (2021). Joe Biden resurfaces with a heartless speech on Afghanistan but it’s clear that US foreign policy is getting real now.
https://www.firstpost.com/world/afghanistan-debacle-joe-biden-gave-a-cynical-heartless-speech-but-his-address-heralds-an-era-of-realism-in-us-foreign-policy-9892921.html Accessed on 6/9/2021.