The 2024 Candidates on Foreign Policy

The rapid ascent of artificial intelligence (AI) has led analysts to predict the beginning of a new era in geopolitics. Meanwhile, TikTok and other foreign technology companies continue to cause concern among policymakers who fear they constitute a threat to national security.

Strategic competition with China—now one of the world’s two largest economies, alongside the United States—will be one of the most consequential foreign policy challenges confronting the next presidential administration. It will face an increasingly contentious relationship with Beijing on both trade and security issues.

In recent years, extreme weather events have caused increased damage around the world. As global temperatures continue to rise at an alarming rate, the probability of more-intense drought, excessive rainfall, severe storms, and bigger wildfires, is growing. Experts warn that shifting climate patterns will facilitate the spread of disease and contribute to food and water shortages.

American defense strategy has shifted focus to great-power competition with China and Russia after nearly two decades dominated by troop deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. With U.S. military personnel stationed in 178 countries, the role of the military—and of U.S. alliances—has grown increasingly controversial.

The health of the U.S. economy is a major factor in the United States’ ability to influence events abroad. It continues to outpace its peers, but many economists point to signs of trouble: debt levels are soaring, inflation remains high, and U.S. firms lag in manufacturing certain advanced technologies.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to sweeping economic and social changes around the world and raised concerns about global preparedness for future large-scale biological or viral threats. The political divides that the pandemic response engendered could now threaten the future of U.S. programs on global health that once operated with strong bipartisan support.

The contentious immigration debate has taken center stage in national politics as migration to the U.S.-Mexico border continues to surge, straining local and federal resources. Border security and asylum policy have grown increasingly divisive, and efforts toward comprehensive immigration reform have repeatedly foundered in Congress.

The Middle East continues to command global attention and pose challenges to the United States as attacks by the Houthi rebel group threaten supply chains and debate continues over how to respond to destabilizing behavior by Iran. Meanwhile, as the war between Israel and Hamas drags on—and as its death toll mounts—the prospect of long-standing peace in the region appears increasingly remote.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the most destructive war in Europe since World War II, has dramatically heightened tensions between Russia and Western countries, which have imposed a bevy of sanctions on Moscow. The United States and its allies have armed and funded the Ukrainian government, sparking debate in Washington. 

For decades, the United States led the charge for global trade liberalization, driven by the belief that open, rules-based markets boost prosperity and expand Washington’s influence. In recent years, rising income inequality, an increasingly assertive China, and the decline of the U.S. industrial base have led to growing skepticism about this model within both major parties.