Senator Kim Outlines Resilience as the Path Forward for American Foreign Policy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) delivered keynote remarks at Foreign Policy for America’s Leadership Summit, outlining his vision to reshape American foreign policy with a “national project of resilience” — not to just weather the anxieties and challenges of today but to build opportunity for future generations of Americans. “When we think through what comes next and how we try to chart a course forward, one word for me comes to mind, which is the word resilience. I believe that if we are no longer seen as the indispensable nation, and we are trying to reject the sense that we are the undependable nation, we must become the resilient nation,” said Senator Kim. Read Senator Kim’s Remarks as Delivered Here Drawing on his background as a State Department officer and civilian advisor in Afghanistan, Senator Kim expanded on his “resilience principals” and laid out his belief in breaking down the firewall between foreign policy and domestic policy, while offering an alternative to a global order built on a “might makes right” approach. Five Key Quotes from Senator Kim’s Remarks “I can’t stand here before you and simply tell you to reject the “might makes right” approach that we see so much dominating our foreign policy today. It is incumbent upon me and others to share with you what is that alternative? I think an alternative, a [Ambassador] Chris Stevens diplomacy and [Ambassador] Chris Stevens foreign policy is something that can remind us of the importance of what American leadership can mean without the bullying, without the divisiveness, without the toxicity and the volatility that is out there. It does not mean that it is not strong, but it is one built off of engagement, built off of a foundation of public service, and built off of a sense that humility and empathy can be strengths, not weaknesses.” “I hope that we can think through what comes next. This sense that we can protect our economic security with the same intensity and vigor that we protect our physical national security. To recognize that we have work to make sure that we have the resources that we need from energy and medicine, critical minerals, to reduce our vulnerabilities and create those shock absorbers for those economic crises ahead, and that we can define and build our partnerships around economic and technological growth, not just around geography and security relationships.” “We have to be thinking about the domestic implications of our foreign policy and the foreign policy implications of our domestic policy and understand together how we build on this through a common word of resilience.” “What I share with you is that we, as a group, need to make sure that we’re going out and talking to the American people, that we are hearing from them about what is first and foremost on their minds, and then being able to work together to be able to build that type of foreign policy.” “Foreign policy for America absolutely also needs to be about domestic policy for America, and that’s how we’re going to be able to build something stronger, more resilient, and usher in a new era of American leadership that I’ll be proud to raise my eight year old and my ten year old in.” Senator Kim’s resilience principals aim to strengthen American foreign policy in the face of competition and change and build a path to opportunity. Read more about Senator Kim’s vision to advance a resilience-focused foreign policy agenda. ###