Yes we are stronger together, but America is driving the world apart

In his final address to the United Nations a couple weeks ago, President Joe Biden was optimistic about the future of global affairs, even as things appear more dire than at any point in his presidency. This optimism paved the way for his central thesis: Things can and will get better. Although the world is presently embroiled in global conflict, no obstacle is impossible to overcome when the world holds together. He remarked that, unlike in prior times of crisis, the center has held: America and its allies remain stronger than ever against tyranny and the challenges they’ve faced. 

Biden built a strong argument in favor of leveraging international cooperation to overcome global challenges and uphold democracy; but, his speech glosses over the real state of the world. The center has held, but the fringes have moved. Biden’s foreign policy decisions might have strengthened America’s ties with its allies, but those same decisions have pushed our greatest adversaries further away — to incredibly harmful effect. 

The U.S. has catastrophically failed to enforce redlines with Israel in its military campaign in Gaza, resulting in massive civilian casualties. Failure to procure a ceasefire deal amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran-backed militia groups has now culminated in Israel conducting a full-scale invasion of Lebanon, with the aim of eradicating Hezbollah. 

This follows 11 months of platitudes and reluctance from the Biden administration regarding Israel’s military campaign, and therefore, the now vehement call for a ceasefire is easily ignored by Israel and its opponents. At every step, the Biden administration failed to contain the scale of the war,  directly contributing to its atrocious present outcomes.

Israel’s war of annihilation has sent a ripple effect across the region, and the U.S.’ already shaky relationship with Iran has reached nearly unsalvageable proportions. To be fair, both nations are at fault. Beyond boasting a government ripe with human rights abuses, Iran’s support of various militia groups has contributed to regional instability and made it a key player in  Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, arguably as Israel’s greatest adversary. In 2020, the U.S. encouraged Iran’s adversarial stance when it assassinated a prominent general responsible for coordinating with Iran’s various proxy militia groups. Since then, it has failed to defuse hostilities between Iran and Israel, which have now climaxed at a time when a multi-front, regional war appears likelier than ever.

By unequivocally backing Israel, the U.S. distances itself further from Iran, making a diplomatic solution to the conflict almost impossible. By repeatedly failing to deter Israel from striking Iran itself, the U.S. has allowed the two bitter rivals to place themselves on a collision course. No matter how much the Biden administration bargains for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, Iran will continue to subvert their proposals by supplying funds and weaponry to its proxy militias, to keep threatening Israel and ensuring it sees no reason to halt its ruthless conquest of Gaza and Lebanon. This feedback loop, which has escalated the situation to its present magnitude, shows no signs of running its course anytime soon.

Foreign policy decisions in Ukraine have procured similarly disastrous results with Russia. The Biden administration’s loose restrictions on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have resulted in Ukrainian forces striking increasingly deeper into Russian territory, crossing a boundary that was previously unthinkable. Similar to how Biden has attempted to restrain Netanyahu, Zelenksyy has taken advantage of the U.S.’ loose conditions on its military aid packages to do whatever it sees as militarily advantageous for the country, embroiling Ukraine and Russia deeper into a war of attrition. Incursions into Kursk and strikes all the way into Moscow further escalate the war, making a peace treaty even more elusive. To make matters worse, according to the U.S. Department of State, the reward of such strikes heavily outweighs the risk of further inflaming the nation with the world’s largest nuclear arsenal.

Beyond Russia and Iran, our deteriorating relationship with China may be the most consequential. China is a global economic powerhouse, far outweighing the scale of Russia or Iran. Complicating matters, China also holds a significant portion of the U.S.’ national debt, and the debts of many other countries around the world. Along with its souring relationship with the United States, China is increasingly refusing to forgive its loans to smaller nations. Even in the face of ramping tariffs, our trade deficit with China continues to increase. Apart from economic concerns, the U.S. military is spread increasingly thin due to expanding commitments in the Middle East, lowering its capacity to restrict the Chinese military’s sphere of influence around the world. Despite these concerning developments, the Biden administration has grown more distant with China, ramping up Trump-era tariffs and attempting to restrict China’s access to the United States as a whole on the basis of security concerns. While these concerns are genuine, our increasingly adversarial relationship with China threatens to bloom into a new cold war.

By diplomatically distancing itself from Russia, China and Iran, Biden has opened the window for our three greatest adversaries to forge greater ties among themselves. This further polarizes the global diplomatic landscape — akin to the Cold War era landscape when Biden entered politics. Bridging the diplomatic gap is even harder, especially as military ties between the nations grow stronger. 

These alliances also help circumvent Western sanctions. For Russia, China becoming a key trade partner softened the blow of the widespread sanctions applied following its invasion of Ukraine. Russia and China also support Iran and its militias in the Middle East. This powerful trio could spell disaster for Biden’s plans for global unity, and honest diplomatic advances must be made to narrow the fissure between them and the West. 

Biden has generally polarized public sentiment in America, but he did bring us together when it came to climate policy. One of the greatest wins of his presidency was positioning the U.S. and its allies toward a sustainable climate future. Unfortunately, forward progress toward renewable energy is threatened by countries such as China and India, which refuse to adopt renewable energy and instead continue to invest heavily in coal. While the rest of the world progresses toward renewables, these nations restrict our ability to counter the existential threat posed by climate change. 

As Biden remarks so poignantly, the world is stronger when it works together. America’s insistence on distancing itself from its adversaries threatens to undermine its successful efforts in pushing progressive climate policy and making strides toward a more united global society. In framing the world in such an optimistic manner, Biden neglects to include how his policies contradicted these efforts. We may be more united with our allies, but in doing so, Biden let our adversaries grow ever more distant.

Opinion Columnist Max Schenke’s column “Transnational times” typically focuses on international politics. He loves receiving criticism or otherwise at maxsch@umich.edu.

Related articles