Why should America lead the world again?

The credibility and influence of the US in the world has waned since President Barack Obama and I left office on January 20, 2017. President Donald Trump made fun of him and in some cases abandoned the allies and partners of America. He has ignored our professionals in the intelligence community, diplomacy and the military.

He has encouraged our opponents, and destroyed our influential mechanisms, to face national security challenges from North Korea to Iran, from Syria and Afghanistan, to Venezuela. He has launched badly-advised trade wars against friends and enemies of the United States, which are damaging the American middle class.

Meanwhile, the global challenges facing the United States have become more complex and urgent. Meanwhile, the rapid progress of authoritarianism, nationalism, and anti-liberalism has undermined our ability to respond properly to them.

The future president of the United States must save our country's reputation, rebuild Allied confidence in our leadership, and mobilise our country and our allies to face new challenges quickly. As president, I will take urgent steps to renew US democracy and alliances, to protect the country's economic future, and

to ensure the U.S. leads the world again.

First, we must repair and revive our democracy. I will reform our educational system so that the possibility of a child in life is not determined by his status or race. I will reform the criminal justice system, to eliminate inequality, restore American government transparency and accountability towards citizens.

Democracy is not just the foundation of American society. It is also the source of our power. It strengthens our leadership and guarantees our security. We have to show the world that the U.S. is ready to lead again, not only by example of our power, but also by the power of our example.

To that end, I will immediately cancel the cruel and pointless policies of the Trump administration, which separate parents from their children at the border. I'm going to end the harmful asylum policies, and I'm going to set an annual quota of 125,000 refugees, and I'm going to try to increase them over time.

I will secure our borders, guaranteeing the dignity of migrants, and defending their legal right to seek asylum. I will also take steps to address conflict of interest, the problem of dark financing and corrupt relationships, which are serving personal, private or foreign agendas, and that are undermining our democracy.

This requires a constitutional change, to completely eliminate the possibility of private money financing federal elections. I will fight for the strengthening of democracy worldwide. Today, democracy is under pressure and falls in many countries. From Hong Kong to Sudan, from Chile to Lebanon, citizens are once again reminding us of the shared desire for honest government, and expressing disgust for corruption.

A secret pandemic, corruption fuels oppression, erodes human dignity, and gives authoritarian leaders a powerful tool to divide and weaken democracies worldwide. During my first year in office, the U.S. will host a global summit on democracy, to revive the spirit and common purpose of free world nations.

Second, my administration will guarantee the success of Americans in the global economy. Our trade policy should start from home, strengthening our middle class, and making sure that everyone can share in the country's success, regardless of race, gender, postal code, religion, sexual orientation or ability.

This will require major investments in infrastructure and education. I will ensure that every American has access to healthcare. China presents a special challenge for us. The U.S. should be tough on him. If it follows the current route, it will continue to steal intellectual ownership of the United States and American companies.

It will continue to use subsidies to give its state companies an unfair advantage in the global market. More Effective Ways to Meet Its Challenge

is building a united front against the abusive behavior of China.

Meanwhile, we have to co-operate with Beijing on issues where our interests fit, such as climate change, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and global health security. Trump's catastrophic foreign policy record reminds us every day of the dangers of an unbalannized and non-competitive approach that denigrates the role of diplomacy.

I will never hesitate to protect the American people, including force when necessary. However, diplomacy must be the first instrument of American power. It is not just a series of handshakes and photographic exits. But it's about building reports, identifying areas of common interest while managing a conflict.

Diplomacy also requires credibility, which Trump has damaged. Trump attacked severely NATO, treating it as a gang offering protection in exchange for money. Our allies must do their part. But the alliance exceeds dollars and cents.

The U.S. commitment to it is sacred, not transactional. NATO is at the heart of US national security, and the essence of liberal democratic ideals. The Kremlin fears a strong NATO -- the most effective political-military alliance in modern history.

To combat Russian aggression, we have to keep the alliance's military capabilities sharp, while we have to expand its ability to face untraditional threats such as dezinformation and kinnetic attacks.

We must impose costs on Russia for its violations of international norms, and support Russian civil society, which has stood courageously against President Vladimir Putin's diplomatic authoritarian system. To regain the faith of the world, we must testify that the United States does what they really say.

The United States should encourage the world to seriously confront the existential threat of climate change. I would conduct major investments, which would put the country on the right track to have a clean economy with zero emissions in the atmosphere by 2050.

I will rejoin the Paris Agreement, and organise a summit of major polluting countries in the world to promote a more steep reduction of emissions in the atmosphere.

As to non-proliferation and nuclear security, the United States cannot be a credible voice while abandoning agreements it has negotiated.

The historic nuclear agreement with Iran, which negotiated the Obama-Bajden administration, prevented Iran from being equipped with nuclear weapons. But Trump rejected the deal, causing Iran to resume its nuclear programme, and become more provocative, increasing the risk of another catastrophic war in the region.

I have no illusion of the Iranian regime, which is engaged in destabilizing behavior throughout the Middle East, which has brutally oppressed protesters at home, and unjustly arrested Americans. But there's a smart way to combat the threat Iran poses to our interests, and a self-blowing way.

And Trump chose the latter. The murder of Kassam Solomon, the commander of the Kurdish Force, eliminated a dangerous actor, but already raised the possibility of an increasingly escalating cycle of violence in the region. Tehran must return to full implementation of the agreement.

If you do that, I will rejoin the agreement, and use diplomacy to work with our allies, strengthen and expand it. Even in the case of North Korea, I will support our negotiators, and launch a stable, co-ordinated campaign with our allies and others, including China, to advance our common goal of a disunlearised North Korea.

I will ask for approval of a new deal with Russia, for limiting nuclear weapons. I believe the U.S. nuclear arsenal's sole aim should be to curb, and if revenge is necessary on a nuclear attack.

It is up to the United States to lead the way again to meet its great challenges. No other nation has that ability. No other nation is built on this idea. We must protect freedom and democracy, regain our credibility, and look with optimism and determination towards our future.

Taken with cuts from “Freign Affairs”