Sizing Up Biden’s U.N. Diplomacy and Guterres’ Second Term

Trend Lines

During his first few months in office, President Joe Biden has largely followed through on his pledges to restore a more multilateralist U.S. foreign policy, rejoining a number of key international organizations and agreements that had been abandoned by his predecessor, Donald Trump. This new approach has come as a relief to many senior officials at the United Nations, particularly Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who was nominated for a second term by the U.N. Security Council this week and is expected to cruise to reelection.

This week on Trend Lines, Richard Gowan, the U.N. director at the International Crisis Group and former weekly columnist for WPR, joins Elliot Waldman to discuss expectations for Guterres’ second term and the notable aspects of Biden’s approach to the U.N. thus far.

If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe.

Relevant Articles on WPR:

• Four Ways Biden Can Reinvigorate the U.N.
• The Four Contending Approaches to Multilateralism Under Biden
• How Biden Can Prove That ‘America Is Back’ at the United Nations
• 2021 Will Be a Make-or-Break Year for Multilateralism

Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a freelance journalist and analyst focusing on security and resource politics in Africa. You can follow him on Twitter at @peterdoerrie.

To send feedback or questions, email us at [e-mail].