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This @axios piece has been making the rounds.
If "allies matter" becomes the foundation of a (possible) Biden Administration's foreign policy, then a important question needs to be asked:
What is meant by "allies"?
Time to be persnickety.
[THREAD] https://www.axios.com/joe-biden-doctrine-allies-matter-foreign-policy-d0d37753-6701-415b-bb69-ab60d0354662.html
If "allies matter" becomes the foundation of a (possible) Biden Administration's foreign policy, then a important question needs to be asked:
What is meant by "allies"?
Time to be persnickety.
[THREAD] https://www.axios.com/joe-biden-doctrine-allies-matter-foreign-policy-d0d37753-6701-415b-bb69-ab60d0354662.html
"Ally" is a word that is thrown around a lot by policy makers, the media, and even scholars.
What's clear from the piece is that the phrase "allies" or "alliances" is not being limited to "military defense pact joint signatory" (e.g. @NATO).
What's clear from the piece is that the phrase "allies" or "alliances" is not being limited to "military defense pact joint signatory" (e.g. @NATO).
It's also clear that the piece isn't even limited to "US military relationships" more broadly. Those fall into a host of different categories https://twitter.com/ProfPaulPoast/status/1197224542114058240
Instead, the @axios piece discusses the "America First era of withdrawal from global alliances" that has marked the Trump administration.
But the US is not technically part of a "global alliance" (unless you count a "collective security" organization like the UN). 
But the US is/was party to a host of multilateral treaties and agreements on a variety of issues.
And here is where we get to the crux of the claim in the piece.
And here is where we get to the crux of the claim in the piece.
The Trump administration has withdrawn from a lot of these treaties and agreements: Paris Accord, Iran Deal, WHO, INF, UNESCO, etc. https://twitter.com/dhnexon/status/1266714465178914816
So substitute "allies" for "treaties and agreements".
The (prospective) Biden Doctrine is "treaties and agreements matter".
The (prospective) Biden Doctrine is "treaties and agreements matter".
Do treaties and agreements matter? That's a question to address at another time.
But for now, I just want to make sure our terminology is clear.
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But for now, I just want to make sure our terminology is clear.
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