THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST: STATE VS. HUMAN SECURITY

This paper addresses US foreign and security policy, with respect to the question of whether the Biden administration's approach to security is predominantly state-based, interest-driven, and focuses on traditional threats or it takes a broader, more comprehensive form, encompassing other referent objects of security and non-traditional threats. Therefore, the main goal of this paper is to describe prevalent types of security, threats, and objects of security in the Biden administration's public discourse, drawing on the theoretical concepts available in the literature. Focusing especially on the case of US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, this paper uses the method of content analysis to determine if Biden's public speeches and press conferences, and other public documents issued by his administration indicate that individual security and consequences to the people in the Middle East were considered when formulating policy, or if it was merely a result of state security considerations, disregarding its impact on human security.