In War, Bob Woodward examines the escalating global tension between democracy and autocracy, a struggle that remains central to President Biden’s foreign policy efforts and to the broader political landscape. Through Biden’s diplomatic maneuvers, Woodward shows the US’s attempt to counterbalance the rise of autocratic leaders, especially amid increasing threats from figures like Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping. Biden’s administration views the protection and promotion of democratic ideals as key, particularly as autocratic regimes are emboldened by a combination of military power and public support at home. This defense of democracy has required both Biden and his national security team to engage in complex strategies that go beyond traditional diplomacy to address this pressing challenge.

Woodward highlights the ways in which Biden’s support of Ukraine is emblematic of his commitment to upholding democratic sovereignty in regions vulnerable to autocratic expansion. Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarked, “Putin’s profound philosophical conviction or theological conviction is that Ukraine needs to be erased from the map and subsumed into Russia” (54), and Blinken’s description of Putin’s motivation as a “theological conviction” elevates the conflict beyond political strategy to something more fervent and personal, framing Biden’s support of Ukraine as an essential response to an authoritarian threat that transcends regional boundaries.