One year after U.S. President Joe Biden hosted the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, great power competition is still driving Washington’s Africa policy. So while the summit did produce some positive outcomes, engagement with civil society remains limited and human rights protection continues to be placed on the back burner.
With the war in Gaza having intensified following the end of the recent U.S.-supported pause in fighting, it has become clear that this conflict is upending U.S. President Joe Biden’s plans for the Middle East: The war has dealt a body blow to Arab-Israeli normalization, while accelerating Iran’s regional integration.
There has perhaps been no more polarizing figure in the realm of U.S. foreign policy than Henry Kissinger, who died last week at age 100. His realpolitik approach undoubtedly led to some success. But it also led Kissinger to advocate for policies whose moral grounding was dubious and whose foreign policy value was questionable.
