This essay won the Stimson Center’s “Build a Better US Foreign Policy” student competition. The competition invited students to share creative ideas for improving US foreign policy to draw new and innovative talent into the policy space and provide avenues for young thinkers to engage with leading foreign policy institutions. You can read the full essay at Inkstick Media.

The push for modernization has led to an increasingly optimistic, yet problematic, vision for the future — a gap between ambition and funding that is estimated to leave a $15 trillion shortfall in global infrastructure investment by 2040. This problem provides a unique opportunity for the United States to rebuild its foreign reputation, demonstrate continued economic and political strength, and engage in well-meaning international action. The Department of State’s Blue Dot Network (BDN) could be the answer. 

The network is a novel, robust mechanism to certify, support, and build infrastructure projects to international standards, assuring that the future of infrastructure investment does not fall victim to corruption and bureaucracy, particularly in the Global South. Since its founding in 2019, the BDN has had tremendous success in creating value not just for its investors and backers but also its community members, contractors, and neighbors. 

Increasingly, the program is used to support economic war against China, undermining OECD allied relations who are not inherently looking for a fight with Beijing. Consequently, the US could best address its reputation problem through the Blue Dot Network by providing its own vision for human development, rather than as a direct response to China and its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 

Boosting joint local-global private sector funding, forgiving International Monetary Fund (IMF)-owed debt in exchange for quality-controlled infrastructure projects, and fostering coordination among global private/public organizations and local entities could represent a more holistic and sustainable US strategy toward forging stronger international partnerships.