Relations between Europe and America will never be the same again. But if @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris have an opportunity to rebuild transatlantic unity, it lies in Central and Eastern Europe.
My latest drop for @ForeignAffairs https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/central-europe/2020-11-16/heal-transatlantic-rift-biden-should-look-central-and-eastern

Europe's quest for 'strategic autonomy' is a disaster. The Belarusian fascist dictator remains unchecked, Hungarian & Polish democracies are on a deathbed and we helplessly allowed Russian occupation troops to roll over Karabakh — just some of the many mishandled crises recently

I can't imagine all of these European crises being such a mess if Americans allies were still around and would do what they always did best in Europe — facilitating. But for this to work, some things in the American foreign policy must change.

First, @JoeBiden/ @KamalaHarris govt should project American diversity rather than American power. Start with bringing diversity to your mostly white & male diplomatic corp. You can't argue on behalf of equality with @StateDept looking like #BlackLivesMatter has never happened

Second, send to a garbage bin the obsolete talk of great-power rivalries. Enough with calls and trips to Moscow as the first reaction to any eastern European crisis. Eastern Europe is not a mere arena for geopolitics competition. Time is up for decolonizing your foreign policy

Third, stop relying on elitist 'bubbles' of foreign-funded democracy-development projects for your insights. The are plenty of new grassroots movements in Eastern Europe that are led by young, creative folks who deliver results against all odds and bridge political polarization

Fourth, don't ostracize the autocratic governments of Hungary and Poland. Use the leftover leverage from the Trump era, play good cop to Brussels’s bad cop and nudge Budapest, and Warsaw toward reconciliation with the EU

Fifth, we need micro-interventions on the ground by Congresspeople. I've spent years recruiting MPs from all across Europe to help us to uphold norms of international law across Eastern Europe. It saved lives & set important precedents. We need a Squad but for foreign affairs

Finally, just walk @JoeBiden's talk and inspire us by your own example. If you turn diversity and equality pledges into reality, bridge your own severe polarization, fix your own democratic deficit, then inspiration can become the United States’ most powerful diplomatic strategy

Plus, at the end of the day, I'm just happy I got to use all the GIFs i wanted to use for this drop.

Thanks for sharing, you guys.