The Global View Of Election 2020
“I believe at our best, America’s a beacon for the globe.” So declared President-elect Joe Biden. But what does the world really think of the American example now? Does the international community see the U.S. as the leader it once was?
Guests
Simon Kuper, life and arts columnist for the Financial Times. (@KuperSimon)
Patrick Gathara, communications consultant, writer and political cartoonist. (@gathara)
From The Reading List
The Atlantic: “Joe Biden Won’t Fix America’s Relationships” — “Hope. That is, at least, the dominant feeling in many global capitals as they adjust to the reality that Joe Biden will soon be president of the United States and, more to the point, that Donald Trump will not be: At least for now, NATO is safe; the transatlantic alliance is safe; global free trade is safe—the world as we knew it is safe.”
Washington Post: “World now looks at how Biden will reshape U.S. policies after turbulent Trump era” — “The world looked ahead Saturday to new American leadership, with U.S. allies and rivals alike starting to predict what the change in the White House would mean for their relations with the United States and for American engagement more generally.”
Financial Times: “Why Europeans no longer dream of America” — “In Franz Kafka’s first novel, Amerika (1927), a teenage boy from central Europe is sent to the US in disgrace, having ‘seduced’ the family maid. (It later emerges that she — a giant, terrifying, Kafkaesque ogre — did the seducing.) In New York harbour, the boy is welcomed by a wealthy stranger: his uncle, who turns out to be a US senator.”
The Atlantic: “America’s Next Authoritarian Will Be Much More Competent” — “Now that Joe Biden has won the presidency, we can expect debates over whether Donald Trump was an aberration (‘not who we are!’) or another instantiation of America’s pathologies and sins.”
Pew Research Center: “U.S. Image Plummets Internationally as Most Say Country Has Handled Coronavirus Badly” — “Since Donald Trump took office as president, the image of the United States has suffered across many regions of the globe. As a new 13-nation Pew Research Center survey illustrates, America’s reputation has declined further over the past year among many key allies and partners.”
HowAfrica: “Patrick Gathara: Renowned Kenyan Political Cartoonist Weighs In On US Election” — “Patrick Gathara, a renowned Kenyan strategic communications consultant and award-winning political cartoonist based in Nairobi, has been weighing on the US presidential election by way of some thought-provoking illustrations.”
Organization For Security And Co-Operation In Europe: “International Election Observation Mission — Preliminary Findings” — “The 3 November general elections were competitive and well managed despite legal uncertainties and logistical challenges. In a highly polarized political environment, acrimonious campaign rhetoric fuelled tensions. … Baseless allegations of systematic deficiencies, notably by the incumbent president, including on election night, harm public trust in democratic institutions.”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org. [Copyright 2020 NPR]
