Madeleine Albright, Richard Haass Outline 2020 Election’s Foreign Policy Implications

October 27, 2020 by Kate Michael
Madeleine Albright, Richard Haass Outline 2020 Election’s Foreign Policy Implications

WASHINGTON — Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and diplomat Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, spoke at a virtual discussion convened by the think tank in the week before the U.S. presidential election about the election’s foreign policy implications and suggested priorities in foreign policy moving forward.

“I was surprised that there weren’t questions about foreign policy [in the last debate],” said Albright, suggesting that the American public seems consumed instead with domestic affairs. “[Still], the connection between domestic and foreign policy has implications for the country.”

“People are consumed with all things domestic,” agreed Haass. “… But we are living in an era when we can’t succeed on our own. [We need to] take our structural advantage of having national partners and allies and make it work.” 

Haass said, “The world seems interested in interfering with us,” pointing out that COVID started in China, California’s wildfires are linked to global climate change, and Russia and Iran have influenced the U.S.’s democratic elections.

Albright offered the term “inter-mestic” — international and domestic together — and warned of three major inter-mestic issues facing the next administration: COVID, the economy, and climate change. 

“If we don’t get COVID under control, we are not going to have the bandwidth as a society to focus on the rest of the world,” Haass agreed. “We also won’t set an example. The rest of the world won’t respect us unless we get COVID under control.” 

Albright fears the rest of the world won’t respect the United States, also, in the absence of strong diplomacy and without participating in multinational trade and cooperative agreements. 

“I have been known to students and friends as ‘Multilateral Madeleine,’” joked Albright. “But Americans don’t like the word ‘multilateral.’ It has too many syllables.”

She stressed the need for a variety of multilateral organizations, like NATO, underscoring both the organizations’ need to adapt and the U.S.’s need to engage.

“We’ve been AWOL at a number of very important international meetings,” said Albright. “[And] we have given a terrible signal by walking away from a multilateral agreement [with Iran]. This is where we depend on international organizations. There’s nothing worse than when a country doesn’t keep its word.”

“If [the U.N.] didn’t exist, we’d invent it, but it needs fixing,” Albright also said. “It’s important to be there. You need to be at the table to have a voice and reform as necessary.”

Haass concurred: “There is no question that our absence has allowed China to fill the vacuum, using economic tools to spread their influence.”

For Haass, climate concerns, the turbulent Middle East in which “America has overcommitted over the last three decades,” and China/Russia are the biggest concerns in foreign policy looking ahead over the next few years. He sees “a large gap between the importance of issues and the willingness of the world to come together to deal with [them].”

“This is what happens when the U.S. pulls back from the world… Good things in the world tended not to happen without us,” said Haass. “The world begins to unravel without us playing a consistent role. [And now,] America’s role in the world is still an open book.”

To retain our role as a major player, Albright emphasized the need to “practice statecraft” in diplomacy, and “get the State Department back to life.” 

“Diplomacy is a basic tool,” said Albright. “But you can’t have diplomacy if you don’t have diplomats, [and the] State Department has been denuded.” She called for an active recruitment process to get “incredible diplomats back” and renew the foreign service with a new generation fresh with diversity of gender and background.

A+
a-
  • Council on Foreign Relations
  • Madeleine Albright
  • Richard Haass
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Foreign Affairs

    July 16, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    White House Backs Exempting PEPFAR From Rescissions Package

    WASHINGTON — The White House signaled it’s fine with Senate Republicans exempting PEPFAR, the global anti-AIDS initiative, from cuts proposed... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The White House signaled it’s fine with Senate Republicans exempting PEPFAR, the global anti-AIDS initiative, from cuts proposed in the rescissions package moving toward passage this week. As of Wednesday afternoon, the legislation had entered the extended prelude to a final vote known as... Read More

    May 8, 2025
    by Tom Ramstack
    Trump’s Foreign Aid Revisions Find Skeptics at House Hearing

    WASHINGTON — Trump administration plans for an 85% cut to the State Department’s diplomacy and development programs drew tough scrutiny... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Trump administration plans for an 85% cut to the State Department’s diplomacy and development programs drew tough scrutiny from a congressional committee Thursday. President Donald Trump and his Republican supporters say the U.S. foreign aid budget cannot be justified while the nation confronts a... Read More

    Trump Meets With French President Macron as Uncertainty Grows About US Ties to Europe and Ukraine

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House for talks on Monday at a moment of deep... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House for talks on Monday at a moment of deep uncertainty about the future of transatlantic relations, with Trump transforming American foreign policy and effectively tuning out European leadership as he looks to quickly end Russia’s war... Read More

    February 5, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Trump Says US Should Take Over Gaza, Turn It Into ‘Riviera of Middle East’

    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday night that the United States should take “ownership” of Gaza, turning it into... Read More

    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday night that the United States should take “ownership” of Gaza, turning it into “the Riviera of the Middle East” after its population of 1.8 million Palestinians is moved to other countries in the region. “The only reason the Palestinians... Read More

    Trump Names Former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to Be Ambassador to China

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he has selected former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to serve as his ambassador... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he has selected former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to serve as his ambassador to China, leaning on a former business executive turned politician to serve as the administration's envoy to America's most potent economic and military adversary. Trump said... Read More

    Newly Elected French Lawmakers Enter Into Talks to See Who Can Form Next Government

    PARIS (AP) — Newly elected lawmakers arrived Tuesday at the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament, for talks seeking... Read More

    PARIS (AP) — Newly elected lawmakers arrived Tuesday at the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament, for talks seeking to cobble together a government majority after a chaotic election result left the legislature split among left, center and far-right parties. President Emmanuel Macron on Monday asked his prime minister,... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top