When will Kamala Harris come clean?

The world has changed since Kamala Harris ran for president in 2019. The US has withdrawn from Afghanistan (a decision she supported), war rages in Ukraine (as western funding and materiel commitments face domestic opposition in the United States and the EU), and tensions remain high in the Middle East as conflict continues in Israel/Palestine, catalysed by Hamas’ attack on 7 October. 

But for all the attention paid to the US presidential contest (set to have its first caucus vote next week in Iowa), and its implications for American foreign policy, little has been paid to vice-president Harris’ foreign policy ambitions. Given how much power the White House has to pursue international aims through levers like the State Department and the United States Trade Representative (USTR), and her place as first in the line of succession should the 81-year-old President Biden win and leave office for whatever reason afterward, we should have clarity from Kamala.

Most vice-presidents harbour an ambition to become commander-in-chief and therefore tend to spend time in strategically important countries to extract policy wins and give themselves a presidential air.