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We are into 2022 and America faces new foreign policy challenges. The foreign office is on its toes trying to tackle the issues judiciously. Some of the challenges are likely to get tougher with time. A common thread that binds them all is that all of them involve an element of uncertainty. America and its leaders shall have to tackle unpredictable autocrats as they pose a serious threat to world peace. The nation also has its hands full with an increasingly assertive China. Let’s take a look at the foreign policy hurdles that the US shall have to deal with in the days lying ahead.
Russian Attack on Ukraine
Things had been getting tense between the West and Russia since 2008 when the US expressed its interest to include Ukraine within NATO. Putin had warned in no uncertain terms that the West would be crossing a red line if it included Ukraine in NATO. Putin launched an all-out attack on Ukraine on February 24 after Vladimir Zelensky, the Ukrainian president refused to bow. It was expected that Russia would overrun Ukraine in a matter of days. However, the Russians now face stubborn resistance from the Ukrainians and the war is getting more and more brutal. Can the US continue to avoid more direct involvement with atrocities on civilians rising as in Bushan? That’s a serious challenge America is faced with.
Tensions with China
As China continues to rise and seeks to establish a new global order that suits its interests, the Americans have had to pull up their socks trying to assert their dominance. Unilaterally, the US has sent ships to the Taiwan Strait, pursued the policy of trade tariffs, condemned Chinese actions in Hong Kong, come down heavily on human rights abuse in Xinjiang, and boycotted the Winter Olympics in China. In tandem with its allies, the US held the first-ever QUAD Leaders’ Summit, got NATO to issue tough statements against China, and also initiated the AUKUS deal. With China having increased the size and scope of its intrusions into Taiwan, the island nation may well turn out to be a flashpoint between the US and China.
Iran going Nuclear
The US had hoped that Russian and Chinese influence on Iran would get it to step back and comply with the 2015 nuclear deal. However, Iran refused to budge and initiated enriching uranium to 60 percent that’s not necessary for civilian use. Iran may choose to remain a threshold nuclear state capable of going nuclear at a short notice. That would embolden Iran and make things really tense in the Gulf putting Israel on tenterhooks. With the US not keen on a military expedition against Iran, a nuclear or near-nuclear Iran looks like a distinct possibility, another major foreign policy challenge for the US.
Conclusion
America’s unchallenged hegemony over world affairs that it enjoyed ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union is on the wane. China continues to rise and its expansionist intentions are a serious threat to global peace. Russia’s war against Ukraine has exposed the limitations of the Western alliance. Creating new alliances like the QUAD and the AUKUS is the way forward.
