US foreign policy in 2021: Key moments in Biden's first term

The administration of President Joe Biden entered office on January 20, 2021, pledging a broad-strokes overhaul of how Washington interacts with the world, promising to be a distinct counterpoint to the disruptive, go-it-alone posture of former President Donald Trump, and tying stability and prosperity at home to US interests abroad in his so-called "foreign policy for the middle class". As 2021 ends, the administration has indeed sought to re-up relations with key allies and position itself as a central player in combating global crises, but has faced criticism for failing to live up to vows of a human rights-leading foreign policy and for what some have described as an over-emphasis on sweeping ideological differences at a time when global cooperation -- particularly between superpowers -- is sorely needed. "2021 was a year of transition. President Biden replaced Trump's impetuousness with pragmatism and realism. There is a greater understanding of what US policy actually is," PJ Crowley, the former US assistant secretary of state for public affairs under President Barack Obama, told Al Jazeera.