Will the postwar international order shaped by American leadership face even greater turmoil, or will it demonstrate its resilience? This year’s American presidential election is likely to reach this major crossroads.
It has become clear that the election will pit the current Republican president, Donald Trump, against a former Democratic vice president, Joe Biden. Both sides have begun to move in advance of the general election set for November.
What is probably most in dispute is how Trump and his “America First” program have changed America’s reliability and leadership ability in international affairs.
Trump rejected globalization and successively renounced the framework of multilateral cooperation. In contrast, Biden promises a return to international cooperation using his experience at the forefront of diplomacy in the former Obama administration.
America’s presence, once so weighty in the global order, has unmistakably been diminished under the Trump administration. Even when faced with the crisis of a pandemic that transcends national borders, the U.S. cannot display the leadership needed to rally international society, and instead, it just increases criticism of China and international institutions.
How would Biden play America’s part now? While he emphasizes relationships with allies, how would he balance America’s interests in coordination with others? We hope he will emphasize his diplomatic expertise.
Looking closely at America, once again it is the problem of the wealth gap that sticks out.
Dissatisfaction with the widening wealth gap due to globalization was the force behind the Trump phenomenon. Trump saw this with the white working class in particular, and ran on a protectionist trade platform, but it is clear that this does not lead to a long-term rise in living standards for the middle class.
On the other hand, Biden was the No. 2 man for eight years in the previous administration, which also aimed to resolve inequality, but it is hard to say he was successful.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, who fought in the Democratic primaries until the end, won support for advocating a universal health insurance system. Public opinion polls have also shown that support for this system of health care has grown in the wake of the coronavirus calamity. No matter who becomes president, achieving the social justice the people clamor for will be an urgent issue.
Ameliorating the wealth gap, improving social security systems, policies to accept immigrants and foreign residents, etc., are all problems that vex advanced nations, including Japan. All countries are earnestly observing the debates that are shaking America over whether to value competition or fairness.
An election campaign taking place in the midst of the whirlpool of the coronavirus is unprecedented. Even small-scale gatherings have no prospect of resuming, which means that the quality of debate will probably be questionable.
The extent to which diversity will be reflected is drawing attention. Biden has promised a female running mate. We hope that American-style democracy, which selects its leaders so rigorously, will weather the adverse circumstances and show us its fortitude.
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