Trump or Biden: Where next for US foreign and defence policy? [What Think Tanks are thinking]

Written by Marcin Grajewski,

The United States is heading for a presidential election on Tuesday 3^rd. November that will pit incumbent Republican candidate, Donald Trump, against the former Democrat Vice President and Senator, Joe Biden. Many analysts and politicians say that this contest may well be one of the most important since the end of World War II, as it will offer a stark choice between two entirely different paths for US foreign and defence policy. During his four years in office, analysts stress how President Trump, whose decisions were often unpredictable, has reversed many aspects of traditional US foreign and defence policy, which had previously been based on a respect for international institutions and a strong Transatlantic alliance.

This note offers links to recent commentaries and reports from international think tanks on the U.S. electoral campaign and the legacy of President Trump.

Les élections américaines et au-delà
Institut français des relations internationales, October 2020

Four years of Trump: The US and the world
Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale, October 2020

A new U.S. foreign policy for the post-pandemic landscape
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 2020

Bonding over Beijing
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 2020

A U.S. foreign policy for the middle class
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 2020

Trump’s ‘virtual reality’ foreign policy
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 2020

A ReSTART for U.S.-Russian nuclear arms control: Enhancing security through cooperation
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 2020

The world gave the United States one do-over
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 2020

What a Biden administration should learn from the Trump administration’s regulatory reversals
Brookings Institution, September 2020

Trump’s violent debate performance is a reflection of his racially violent policies
Brookings Institution, September 2020

Election 2020: Where are we?
Brookings Institution, September 2020

What a second Trump term would mean for the world
Brookings Institution, October 2020

Charts of the week: Coronavirus and swing states; fading American Dream; foreign-born population share
Brookings Institution, October 2020

From consensus to conflict: Understanding foreign measures targeting U.S. elections
Rand Corporation, October 2020

How Russia targets U.S. elections, black workers and Covid-19, TikTok
Rand Corporation, October 2020

The challenges of the post-pandemic agenda
Bruegel, July 2020

Trump’s international economic legacy
Bruegel, September 2020

Diversification and the world trading system
Bruegel, September 2020

Together or alone? Choices and strategies for Transatlantic relations for 2021 and beyond
German Marshall Fund, October 2020

Count people where they are
Center for American Progress, October 2020

Joe Biden’s alternative minimum book tax
American Enterprise Institute, October 2020

President Trump’s debate performance overshadows a record to support
Manhattan Institute, October 2020

Pulling U.S. forces from Europe: Show me the sense please
Friends of Europe, June 2020

America: A European power?
Friends of Europe, October 2020

Expect chaos for the November election
Heritage Foundation, September 2020

Diplomacy during the quarantine: An opportunity for more agile craftsmanship
Carnegie Europe, September 2020

A Biden victory could reset transatlantic relations
European Council on Foreign Relations, July 2020

How Europe can defend itself against US economic sanctions
European Council on Foreign Relations, August 2020

Touching the elephant: European views of the transatlantic relationship
European Council on Foreign Relations, September 2020

Trump’s Kosovo show: No big deal
European Council on Foreign Relations, September 2020

The pandemic was supposed to be great for strongmen. What happened?
European Council on Foreign Relations, September 2020

Why America is facing off against the International Criminal Court
European Council on Foreign Relations, September 2020

Trump’s dirty tricks
European Council on Foreign Relations, September 2020

Three dangers Trump’s Covid poses for the world
European Council on Foreign Relations, October 2020

Trump’s international economic legacy
Peterson Institute for International Economics, August 2020

The high taxpayer cost of ‘saving’ US jobs through ‘Made in America’
Peterson Institute for International Economics, August 2020

Trump’s trade war timeline: An up-to-date guide
Peterson Institute for International Economics, September 2020

How Trump’s export curbs on semiconductors and equipment hurt the US technology sector
Peterson Institute for International Economics, September 2020

Americans’ views of government: Low trust, but some positive performance ratings
Pew Research Center, September 2020

Voters’ attitudes about race and gender are even more divided than in 2016
Pew Research Center, September 2020

Trump-Biden, Round One: Lots of animosity, little in the way of straight answers
Hoover Institution, September 2020

Donald Trump’s foreign policy successes
Hoover Institution, September 2020

One thing Biden and Trump seem to agree on: We need to focus on innovation
German Marshall Fund, September 2020

What if elections didn’t matter? The Belgian solution
Cato, August 2020

Balancing tradeoffs between liberties and lives
Cato, September 2020

Covid-19 is also a reallocation shock
Cato, September 2020

Dutch views transatlantic ties and European security cooperation
Clingendael, September 2020

Trump has a serious young voter problem
NDN, September 2020

Donald Trump and Sonny Perdue’s USDA made the Covid-19 hunger crisis worse
Center for American Progress, September 2020

The GOP’s pivot away from fiscal relief hurts millions of Americans
Progressive Policy Institute, September 2020

Biden versus Trump
Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft, August 2020

The US troop withdrawal plan
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik, August 2020

An alliance of democracies: With the US or for the US?
Egmont, July 2020

Amerikas apartheid: Der neue alte Exzeptionalismus und seine außenpolitischen Folgen
German Council on Foreign Relations, July 2020

An all-mail election would be dangerous for democracy
Heritage Foundation, June 2020

Fostering Europe’s strategic autonomy: A new agenda for trade and investment
European Policy Centre, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, June 2020

Democracy maybe: Attitudes on authoritarianism in America

New America Foundation, June 2020

Understanding gender equality in foreign policy
Council on Foreign Relations, June 2020

Read this briefing on ‘Trump or Biden: Where next for US foreign and defence policy?‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.