Never let a good crisis go to waste, as the saying goes. President Donald Trump drove U.S. standing with its friends into a ditch, did little to improve things with its adversaries, and may do yet more damage on his way out. But the incoming Biden administration has the opportunity to rebuild better alliances of democracies, starting with Europe, and put them to work on common challenges. The problems—whether global like the pandemic or climate change, or from authoritarian aggressors like Russia or China, or economic and societal inequities at home and abroad—won’t yield easily. Joe Biden’s team, however, can turn the massive relief at Trump’s imminent (if unwilling) departure into political capital to get things done.
The last four years have served as a warning to many Europeans of the risk of U.S. unilateralism and hostility, with much talk of Europe building and asserting its own power on the world stage. Washington’s instinct may be to push back against this or fear decoupling. But it shouldn’t. This newfound European energy should be harnessed by the Biden administration with a positive agenda to shape a forward-looking trans-Atlantic relationship. Early Biden decisions, like rejoining the Paris climate accord or the World Health Organization, will go a long way to reassure Europe that the United States is a responsible partner. But it’s not enough to restore some illusory good old days.
