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Anne-Marie Slaughter
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Project Syndicate: After the 2018 midterm election, you discussed with Elmira Bayrasli the possibility that a “cornered” Trump might attempt to “exploit external problems – concerning Syria, Iran, and Russia, in particular – to undermine the Democrats’ popularity following their takeover of the House of Representatives.” Could a narrow Trump victory today – especially alongside a Democratic sweep of Congress – heighten such risks? How could a Democratic Congress check a Trump administration, especially in the foreign-policy arena?

Anne-Marie Slaughter: Political leaders commonly use foreign “crises” to distract from domestic politics when they are faced with unpleasant or adverse circumstances at home. So, if Trump were re-elected, but faced a Democrat-controlled Congress, he could be expected to make greater use of his executive powers, which are strongest in the realm of foreign policy.

That said, a Democratic Congress could take a number of measures to constrain Trump’s scope of action. It could leverage its “power of the purse” to block any initiatives he wishes to undertake that require public funding. It could also refuse to legislate sanctions he wishes to impose or to ratify agreements he reaches. And it could pass “sense of the Senate” or “sense of Congress” resolutions that send a different message to the world than whatever he might proclaim.

Most dramatically, a Democratic Congress could refuse to confirm Trump’s nominees to foreign-policy positions. And it could hold key legislation on other issues hostage, forcing Trump to stand down on a particular foreign-policy issue in exchange for passing it.

But these more extreme actions carry serious risks. Yes, they might make sense in the short run, if Trump is pursuing a dangerous course that could lead to war or irreparable breaches of America’s alliances. A move to withdraw from NATO is a good example. But, in the longer term, they would result in the complete breakdown of the informal norms of governance that are required to keep all presidential (as opposed to parliamentary) systems functioning.

PS: In September, you and Sharon E. Burke argued that “Americans need to embrace the country’s diversity as a source of strength and solidarity that will allow it to meet collective challenges at home and abroad.” If Biden wins today’s election, which concrete steps should his administration take to realize this potential?

AMS: There are many important steps a President Biden could take. The most important would be to overhaul America’s national-security and foreign-policy apparatus, to ensure that political, Foreign Service, civil service, and expert appointees actually reflect the country’s demography.

The Foreign Service, for example, is still 65% male and mostly white. I have proposed the creation of a new Global Service, which would create far more opportunities for women and people of color. As I wrote in June, thinking in terms of global security, in addition to national security, would help to elevate vitally important issues, such as those addressed by the Sustainable Development Goals. These include climate change, access to food, water, and energy, and preservation of biodiversity, as well as health security, cyber-security, and migration and refugees. The people who work on these issues, nationally and globally, are far more likely to be women and people of color than those working in the traditional national-security realm.

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A President Biden could also make a difference by creating a new cabinet-level Department of Global Development. And his administration could support networks of foreign-affairs officials based in mayors’ and governors’ offices across the US, thereby opening up access to a wider and more diverse pool of candidates at the federal level.

All of these personnel-side policies are essential to achieve real change. But, more broadly, Biden should explicitly and consistently emphasize the fundamental truth that America’s diversity is one of our greatest strengths. We are a country that reflects and connects the world – and that is how our president should view and describe us.

Immigrant communities constitute cultural, commercial, educational, and recreational links to their home countries, which can benefit the US in countless ways. And Americans of different ethnic and racial lineages whose families have been in the country for a long time – like many African-Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans – may still have a greater interest in traveling to and connecting with the countries from which their ancestors came.

A US that wants to re-engage with the world and play a leading role in promoting peace, prosperity, dignity, and opportunity for all would start by viewing its own people as many and one at the same time, representing the world’s cultures and creating their own.

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