Kamala Harris’s foreign policy: Continuity in substance, a new style in form, and the hot potato of Gaza

“As president, I will never waver in defense of America’s security and ideals. Because, in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand — and where the United States of America belongs,” said Vice President Kamala Harris in her speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In her first interview last Thursday after assuming the party’s presidential nomination, she addressed the war in Gaza to say that, if she wins the November election, she will maintain the same line as her predecessor, Joe Biden, i.e. demanding an immediate ceasefire but continuing to provide arms to Israel.

Little by little the Democratic candidate, who in the first weeks avoided providing details about her foreign policy proposals, is being more open about her plans if she were to occupy the Oval Office. From the outset, she made efforts to present herself as a strong and experienced leader (“I will make sure [...]we strengthen — not abdicate — our global leadership”) who will follow in the footsteps of her predecessor yet make her own decisions. She also aimed to mark a radical contrast with the “America first” of Donald Trump, who has repeatedly questioned Harris’s ability to confront autocrats such as Kim Jong-un or Vladimir Putin.

Whoever takes office on January 20, 2025 will face a highly complex scenario. In Europe, the bloodiest war since 1945. In the Middle East, an abyss is in sight. In the Indo-Pacific region, there is a cold war raging in trade and technology. We are witnessing an ever-increasing rapprochement between Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. And the specter of disinformation and cyber interference looms around the world.

Meanwhile, as a result of an era in which Trump pushed U.S. allies to invest more in their own defense and Biden launched a web of new regional alliances, military spending is multiplying. NATO has expanded and modernized; in the Indo-Pacific, cooperation between Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia is strengthening.

Harris and her campaign argue that she is, other than Biden himself, the most recent candidate with foreign policy experience in 35 years, dating back to the days of George Bush Sr. The vice president recalls that during her three and a half years in office she has traveled to 21 countries and met with nearly 150 foreign leaders. During her years in the Senate she served on the Intelligence and National Security committees, which gave her access to some of the thorniest and most classified issues in American foreign policy and security.

“She has been in either the Oval Office or the Situation Room every time there has been a major foreign policy decision. President Joe Biden values her advice. It’s not like she’s a newbie on the first day, she’ll have been familiar with these issues for four years, during a period that has been quite turbulent in international politics,” recalls Colin Kahl, former under secretary of defense for policy during Biden’s term and now at Stanford University.

Continuity

Throughout her speech to the Democratic convention, Harris stressed the importance of being firm in promoting U.S. values abroad, and promised that as commander-in-chief, she will “ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world.” She also highlighted the importance of alliances, her commitment to NATO and her support for Ukraine against the Russian occupation. All of these are pillars of Biden’s foreign policy and contrast radically with Trump’s proposals. The Republican candidate asserts that he would end the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours” and he has threatened not to respect the principle of mutual assistance if an Atlantic Alliance partner that does not meet military spending targets is attacked.

“The principles of American foreign policy will be consistent with those of the Joe Biden administration. Kamala Harris believes in strong American leadership, where our values and our strength must be combined for the well-being and security of Americans, but also for the benefit of the global common good,” says Susan Rice, a National Security Advisor under President Barack Obama and now at Harvard University, about a hypothetical Harris administration. “It will strengthen our alliances around the world, not only in Europe and Asia, but also in places like Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.”

As vice president, Harris was charged with trying to tackle the root causes of immigration from Central America; as a candidate, she has promised to push through the bipartisan border control bill, which failed in Congress earlier this year amid Republican pushback after Trump criticized the measure. “I think immigration will continue to be a central issue in the hemisphere, just because of the numbers, particularly of Venezuelans, that continue to be on the move,” former State Department official and Harris aide Roberta Jacobson told Americas Quarterly.

But Harris’s foreign policy will not be identical to Biden’s, Susan Rice believes: “We will see differences in emphasis, differences in tone,” predicts the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

Part of it is a question of mindset. Biden is an old-school politician, forged in the ideological constraints of the Cold War. Harris, a former California attorney general and member of the generation that entered adulthood when the Berlin Wall fell, sees things through the prism of legality. As the daughter of immigrants and political activists, she is also aware of other views in the rest of the world regarding imperialism, globalization or the problems in the Middle East.

It is precisely around this region, and the war in Gaza, where it had been anticipated that there could be a greater distance between the current tenant of the White House, who has resolutely supported Israel since the beginning of the conflict, and his vice president. Asked in her CNN interview on Thursday about her position on a possible arms embargo against Israel, Harris assured that she does not differ from Biden’s views, and does not contemplate such a veto.

Israel and Gaza

The candidate stressed that her position is “unequivocal and unwavering” in her commitment to Israel’s defense and its ability to defend itself. But she also pointed out that this right must be exercised in accordance with international law. And she stressed that “far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed” — more than 40,000 — have died in this war. “We have got to get a deal done” for a ceasefire and an exchange of hostages, she insisted. Only in this way can the war end and a path begin that will allow a two-state solution and a life of dignity for the Palestinians.

Harris has been much less explicit about one of the major axes of Democratic and Republican U.S. foreign policy in recent years: the rivalry with Beijing. As president, she said in Chicago, she will ensure that “America — not China — wins the competition for the 21st century” in areas such as artificial intelligence and space.

The Democratic electoral platform, drafted before Biden’s withdrawal and approved at the Chicago convention, provides a little more detail in its 91 pages: close collaboration with allies to respond to the “intense strategic competition” with the Asian giant; resistance to Chinese coercion and what Washington considers biased trade practices; strengthening the American industrial base; and, at the same time, collaboration with Beijing in areas of common interest, such as the fight against climate change or fentanyl trafficking. The platform also criticises Trump’s plans to impose 10% tariffs on all imports, and 60% on Chinese products, considering it a reckless step that would end up harming American consumers.

In Latin America, Roberta Jacobson believes that Harris’ experience as a former prosecutor gives her knowledge “about the security challenges in the region, whether it’s firearms coming from the United States, or financing and money laundering, to understand how best to collaborate in these areas.” The vice president, she says, is also very interested in labor rights in the region. And she will devote attention to reforming the immigration system.

If the Democratic candidate wins in November, Mexico and the United States would have their first female presidents: Claudia Sheinbaum and Harris, both representatives of a change of generation in the politics of their respective nations. “I am hopeful that the two will be able to create a true partnership,” says the former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, who points to the fight against climate change as areas of potential collaboration. “But it’s important to recognize that from time to time, Mexican presidents have to demonstrate their independence from the United States, and the most important thing is that U.S. presidents, at those times, don’t get sucked into a spiral of recriminations.”

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