- The world’s most powerful nation—yes, the United States of America, which continues to be addressed in this manner—has set in motion to elect its president, with the complex poll process commencing in earnest. The global community will be looking with bated breath to see what the eventual outcome of the presidential election underway in the USA will be. Will the result matter to the global community in any way? Indeed, in more than one way the most advanced nation has an overbearing presence in every matter of importance including the all-important economic considerations courtesy of the heft/traction enjoyed by the USA in the global firmament. Does it have a significant bearing on India and its aspirational society looking to scale up? You bet.
PC: CNN
- However, whether it is Donald Trump or Kamala Harris donning the Oval Office is not the question that would be in the minds of the Indian leadership. Either Republican or Democrat, the equation between India and the USA would continue to witness an upward trajectory because of the evolving geopolitical and geostrategic scenario. The Indian citizens would be nodding in quite understanding how the US presidential contest has set an awful example so far. Delightfully at that. Nothing different from the voluble shenanigans witnessed here during the gruelling campaigning. Of course, the US elections are followed more closely than any other country because of the US’s outsized cultural, economic, and geopolitical influence on the world.
- The influx of North Korean soldiers into Russia’s frontline also reflects regimes bracing for Nov 5 to alter their course. A Trump win is expected to inject more unpredictability into US policy than a Harris one – in both negative and positive ways. She is the institutionalist candidate, who has not only been a frontal part of the Biden administration but is also expected to bring broad continuity with it. On West Asia, while Harris’s and Trump’s past approaches suggest differences in future ones, the US-Israel alliance will stay solid either way. India will engage constructively with whichever candidate wins. Undoubtedly, personality politics is playing out hugely within the US. But India’s relationship is with the office of the US president, whosoever sits in it.
PC: Freepik
- Nonetheless, whoever sits in it will help determine how US policy shifts, with each shift portending consequences for other nations. If Trump’s proposed tariffs and anti-immigration policies are fully implemented that would be very unpleasant not for the US alone. China’s industrial complex is rattled already but other export-oriented economies will also suffer. Notably, the acerbic tirades between the presidential candidates are not dissimilar to the Indian political narrative during elections. The misogyny is out of every ballpark, expectedly. Plus, the vote itself is so unsafe that, among other measures, snipers are being deployed and anti-overdose Narcan is being stockpiled to protect it. Sadly, American democracy is resembling a poor example to follow.
