The US Presidential Election: International Order at a Crossroads

Will the U.S. continue its “America First” policy, or will it return to an internationalism that prioritizes the preservation of world order? Election day in the presidential race is Nov. 3, and fast approaching.

If we look back on the presidential race, despite certain unavoidable issues due to COVID-19, the debate was largely lackluster.

Neither of the candidates talked much about foreign policy. How does the U.S. intend to engage the international community going forward? It is truly unfortunate that election day will be upon us before we have the chance to hear more about the candidates’ outward-looking strategies.

Domestically, the U.S. is grappling with an increase in COVID-19 cases in certain regions. However, there has been limited rational discussion on how the country can balance prevention and economic recovery.

Due to tension between the Republican and Democratic Parties, even Congress has not yet managed to settle on any economic strategy. As the American people suffer from the blowbacks of a stagnant government, one can only wonder what crosses their minds as they watch both candidates go back and forth with a blame game.

But beyond everything else, the blame falls heavily on sitting president Donald Trump, who has turned his back on any scientific approach to COVID-19, and has intentionally incited division among the two parties.

In the middle of this serious conflict, there is also uncertainty surrounding whether or not people will be able to cast votes and have them counted without incident.

Needless to say, an administration should be chosen fairly, peacefully and according to the rules of representative democracy. There should be no violence under any circumstances. However, as authorities have uncovered a plot to kidnap a Democratic state governor, we find ourselves at a point where we can no longer take a peaceful election for granted.

People are largely concerned about the potential chaos that may ensue while counting the ballots. All attention is on the handling of mail-in ballots, which has increased exponentially due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is also the possibility that states will not be able to announce a winner on election day, and that the result will be litigated in court. The local state governments responsible for handling ballots and processing election data should maintain their allegiance not to a particular party, but to a legal procedure, and announce their decisions accordingly.

Trump and the Republican Party forced their nomination to the Supreme Court through in order to fill a vacancy as quickly as possible. However, we must keep in mind that if suspicions about the independence and neutrality of the judicial branch grow, the government itself will become unstable.

The biggest issue is Trump’s attitude that, even if he loses, he does not intend to accept the results. No matter who wins, we should keep in mind that that person will be, not a representative of a particular base or class of people, but president of the United States, someone with the responsibility to unify all of its citizens.

The turmoil resulting from divisions within the U.S. government has already begun to trigger uncertainty in the economic markets. The sudden shift in policy that accompanies the changing of administrations has also damaged the United States’ reliability among the international community.

This election affects more than just the next four years. It puts us at a critical crossroad that will potentially impact the future of the international community. It is important that Americans consider every aspect of this election and make a sensible and well-informed decision come Nov 3.*

*Editor’s Note: Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential election on Nov. 7.