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Grasping the Global Implications of the U.S. Election

Created September 29th, 2020 by John Ciorciari

Framing Statement:

The 2020 U.S. elections will occur in a period when democracy is under serious strain in many parts of the world. In a growing number of countries, elected leaders have used populist and nationalist appeals to undermine democratic norms and institutions such as judicial independence, legislative checks, executive term limits, minority rights, and freedoms of speech and assembly. The same forces have generated new challenges for global institutions like the United Nations, as some governments reassert sovereignty and emphasize the competitive pursuit of national interests, often at the expense of multilateral diplomacy.

The upcoming U.S. presidential election has profound implications for these global trends. Candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden have voiced very different views on the appropriate course for U.S. foreign policy in this changing landscape. Under the slogan of “America First,” President Trump has stressed the need to advance U.S. interests by confronting strategic rivals, bargaining with allies, and reducing reliance on global institutions that could constrain the United States and limit its policy options. President Trump has presented power politics as a natural facet of international relations. He has criticized his predecessors for failing to leverage U.S. power to secure favorable agreements with rivals such as Iran and North Korea, for allowing allies to free-ride on U.S. security protection, and for enabling China and other countries to take advantage of American openness to secure unfair trade advantages.

Former Vice President Biden pledges to reverse course in many respects. He argues that U.S. values and interests are often best served by pursuing multilateral diplomacy to address challenges such as climate change, trade imbalances, and the Covid-19 pandemic. He has criticized President Trump for anti-democratic practices at home and for tolerating or embracing authoritarian leaders abroad, from Russia to Saudi Arabia. Biden pledges to reinvigorate U.S. alliances such as NATO, to reinvest in global institutions such as the World Health Organization, and to repair what he regards as a badly tarnished U.S. global reputation.

The candidates’ contrasting positions have far-reaching implications. In the security domain, they imply very different strategies for addressing key issues such as the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs, negotiations with the Afghan government and Taliban, maritime rivalry with China, and protracted crises in Syria and Yemen. On the economic front, they suggest different approaches to managing trade disputes and the response to the current global recession. The candidates’ approaches will affect the prospects for the survival or revival of global institutions such as the World Trade Organization and Human Rights Council. They also may bear upon the democratic decline occurring in many parts of the globe, from Hong Kong to Belarus. The world will be watching the U.S. election closely.

This Democracy Café aims to foster a discussion about what to watch for in the U.S. presidential debates and how the ensuing election may affect world politics.

 

Multimedia:

Voice of America, “Trump, Biden Present Starkly Different Views on Foreign Policy,”
August 30, 2020 (3 minutes)

 

Text:

 

Questions & Prompts: 

  1.  What are the most important differences in how Donald Trump and Joe Biden speak about and have approached international affairs?
  2.  To what extent does President Trump’s approach to foreign policy reflect his own personal qualities, and to what extent does it reflect broader trends in U.S. and
    international politics?
  3. President Trump pledges to maintain his course in foreign affairs. What have proven to be its principal benefits and drawbacks?
  4. Biden promises to return to a foreign policy approach more like that of the Obama administration. In what ways is that desirable, and what should change?
  5. In practice, how differently would a Biden administration approach difficult issues –such as relations with China or the war in Afghanistan—than a second Trump
    administration?

 

Bibliography:

Robert D. Blackwill, Trump’s Foreign Policies Are Better Than They Seem Links to an external site., Council on
Foreign Relations, 2019.
Ivo Daadler and James M. Lindsay, The Empty Throne: America’s Abdication of Global Links to an external site.
Leadership Links to an external site., PublicAffairs, 2018.
Martin S. Indyk, Kenneth G. Lieberthal and Michael E. O’Hanlon, Bending History: Links to an external site.
Barak Obama’s Foreign Policy Links to an external site., Brookings Institution, 2012.
Ben Rhodes, “The Democratic Renewal: What It Will Take to Fix U.S. Foreign Policy,” Links to an external site.
Foreign Affairs, September/October 2020.