In early March, the Biden administration released its Interim National Security Strategic Guidance—a framing document released ahead of the National Security Strategy (NSS) that serves as an early signal of U.S. foreign policy priorities in the Biden Administration. By using diplomacy and development to connect the administration’s domestic priorities to America’s foreign policy priorities, the president has clearly signaled the significant role these tools will play over the next four years.

When people think about U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF), they might envision romanticized scenes from television or the movies. But what they don’t see is what goes on behind the scenes. While SOF plays a lead role in defending our country, U.S. national security also relies on the strength and support of our civilian forces—particularly our diplomatic corps and development personnel—in countries around the world.

The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) convened a bipartisan virtual town hall with Congressman David Price (D-NC) and former Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL), alongside USAID Acting Administrator Gloria Steele. They discussed the bipartisan agenda to strengthen democratic institutions around the world, and how that impacts our democracy here at home.

This week’s kick-off session for USGLC’s inaugural class of Next Gen Global Leaders was a proud moment for our organization. In 2020, we recruited nearly 100 bipartisan, diverse, and talented young leaders from 33 states to join our inaugural class of Next Gen Global Leaders. And this week, at the start of 2021, we welcomed them into the USGLC family as they signed into the Zoom classroom for their first session.

President Biden headed to the State Department in Washington, DC’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood this week to talk about “restoring America’s place in the world” — his first visit to a cabinet agency as president. Since inauguration, the President has focused each day on a policy issue and Executive Orders, and he used this visit to make the case the United States must “earn back our leadership position” in order to “make big things happen” for American families and the world.

Throughout Tony Blinken’s confirmation process in the Senate, and that of other Biden cabinet picks, the importance of U.S. development, diplomacy and global leadership has been a key theme of appointees and Senators alike.

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and a mere two weeks after violent attacks on the U.S. Capitol, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46^th President of the United States. Like other Democratic and Republican presidents before him, President Biden’s Inaugural address highlighted a clear vision for the role of American leadership and engagement in the world to support “peace, prosperity, and security.”

As the election approaches, foreign policy observers are starting to examine the state of the world the President will face in January 2021 and ask what the next Administration would or should do. The draft Democratic platform offers a glimpse into how foreign policy might figure into a Biden Administration’s vision to “build back better.”

As America continues a nationwide dialogue on race, and industries and organizations are being called upon to address systemic racism, increased scrutiny has also fallen upon America’s diplomacy and development agencies. Just as America’s foreign policy affects our local communities, our domestic challenges can also have global repercussions. Current and former officials, in cooperation with bipartisan Members of Congress, agree that to achieve our foreign policy goals abroad, America’s diplomats must look more like America.

In his new book, Exercise of Power, Secretary Gates reflects on the successes and shortcomings of the U.S. on the global stage, and offers his perspective on a new path forward to confront today’s greatest global challenges.