As the world waits to see who takes charge at the White as US President after the November 5 election as it concerns the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia,many people are thinking about the global consequences of this election.
The dominant question is “will Kamala Harris carry on in Biden’s footsteps with her conviction that in “these unsettled times, it is clear America cannot retreat”? Or will it be Donald Trump with his hope that “Americanism, not globalism” will lead the way?
When US President Joe Biden walked through Kyiv in February 2023 on a surprise visit to show solidarity with Volodymyr Zelensky, his Ukrainian counterpart, air sirens were wailing. “I felt something… more strongly than ever before,” he later recalled. “America is a beacon to the world.”
In recent times however, the value of US global influence is under question. Regional powers are going their own way, autocratic regimes are making their own alliances, and the devastating wars in Gaza, Ukraine and elsewhere are raising uncomfortable questions about the value of Washington’s role.
But America matters by dint of its economic and military strength and its major role in many alliances even as the global consequences of this very consequential election unfold.
