For the at least the past decade, pundits have written about the decline of the US as a global power, and it has only increased since 2016 with the election of Donald Trump.  As a proud Progressive/Liberal/Social Democrat (use whatever label you like) and as a globalist, I have been nothing short of dismayed and ashamed of U.S. foreign policy under the Trump administration.

Now that most of the top-tier Democratic candidates are officially on the campaign trail for 2020, I am looking forward to reading their policy papers, especially those outlining foreign policy.  Since candidates still don’t have those available, however, I thought I would share my vision for restoring America’s place in the world.

Note: This is not an exhaustive list.

Climate Change
The U.S. must re-enter the Paris Agreement.  We must also pledge to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and increase the share of renewable energy in our energy mix.

To give us an idea of what our goals should be, let’s look at the EU’s targets for 2030 in these two areas.

• At least 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions compared with 1990
• At least 27% of total energy consumption from renewable energy

If the U.S. wants to be a global leader, then we need to lead by example and set the standards for others to emulate.  When it comes to climate change, we need to be especially bold.

Being a global leader means being a good steward of the environment.  

Humanitarian Aid and Development
When it comes to official development assistance (ODA), the US has consistently fallen short of the target of .7% of GNI.  In 2017, the US spent .18% of GNI on ODA, placing it ninth worst among OECD countries; however, it was number one in overall spending with $35.26 billion.  Imagine how much good could have been done had the US met the .7% target.  The irony here is that while President Trump has chastised our NATO allies for not spending 2% of GDP on defense, the US has not met the target for ODA.

    To the critics who say, “We’ve got our own problems here, let’s fix those first,” I say, you’re right, we do have problems here, but that does not mean we turn inward and promote an “America First” policy.

Being a global leader means helping those in need- at home and abroad.

Human Rights
We must do more to promote human rights abroad.  Among the many rights we should protect:

• The right to food (too many people around the world live in hunger and food insecurity)
• The right to water (too many people around the world live without clean water or proper sanitation)
• The right to an education (too many people around the world, especially girls, don’t get a proper education)
• The right to health care (too many people around the world live in countries with high mortality rates, diseases like AIDS and malaria, and a lack of reproductive health care)
• The right to shelter (too many people around the world live without access to safe, reliable, and affordable housing)

Additionally, we must do more to promote and protect gender equality.  Sweden is a leader in regards to having a feminist foreign policy.  As for international commitments, the U.S. should ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Finally, we are the only country that has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  That must change.

Being a global leader means ensuring the rights of others to live in dignity and fulfill their potential.

Military and Defense
I served eleven years in the Army (two years in the Reserves, four on Active Duty, and five in the National Guard).  In that time, I worked in an office, in a Bradley, and in a Howitzer.  I know how important it is to have the proper equipment.  That said, we need to drastically decrease our military and defense spending.  To give you an idea of how much we spend, here are just three images from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Additionally, according to a recent study from Brown University, the U.S. will have spent an estimated $5.9 trillion on the War on Terror.  We must review our involvement in the Middle East.

When is enough, enough? Is our military sufficient to “provide for the common defence”?

Being a global leader means keeping the peace and knowing when to use force for the greater good.

Multilateralism
The U.S. must unequivocally reaffirm our commitment to international organizations and treaties.  Global issues require global solutions.  Cooperation, not competition.  An outstretched hand, not a closed fist.  Multilateralism, not unilateralism.

Much of the current order was established at the end of the Second World War, more than seventy years ago.  A lot has changed since then- the end of European imperialism in Africa and Asia, a new wave of globalization (thanks to the internet), and the end of the Cold War.  As such, some international organizations may need reform to catch up to the 21st century.

When the U.S. signs multilateral agreements, e.g. the Paris Agreement or the Iran Deal, we need to stick to them.  Withdrawing is bad diplomacy and makes towards future agreements more difficult.

Finally, the Trump administration has repeatedly alienated our European allies.  It is going to take a lot of work to rebuild transatlantic relations, but it must be done.  We must reassure both NATO and the EU that they have a friend in the U.S.

Being a global leader means being a team player.

Conclusion
I know there are a lot of areas to foreign policy that I didn’t cover (trade, migration, crime, cybersecurity, etc.), but this should be a good start to get us thinking about how we can restore America’s place in the world.  Whomever the new president is in 2020, she/he will have a lot of work to repair the damage done by the Trump administration.

Thanks for reading.