Vox Reader JoNíNí Coinnigh asks: Why does American politics (especially the presidential election) affect not only the United States but the world?
On one level, the answer to this question is very simple. The United States is the most powerful country in the world. So what happens in Washington is important to the world in the same way that decisions in Rome during the Empire are important to everyone who lived near the border.
But I'm actually worried about comparing it to Rome Undercell The importance of America to the world. Because the ancient world was more interconnected than most thanks, but that was nothing compared to the world we live in today.
In part, of course, this is a technology issue. This starts with the most dangerous weapon ever made by humanity.
Post-World War II politics have been defined primarily by the ghosts of nuclear war. If the US should have gone to war with Russia, China, or North Korea, nuclear weapons use would have far exceeded its targets. A complete nuclear exchange between large-scale nuclear forces can even undermine the foundations of life on Earth itself.
But even if we don't talk about the worst case scenario, and frankly, unlikely scenarios, the US remains a global hegemon, setting the terms of political engagement for almost everyone on the planet.
It is the most powerful country in the NATO Alliance and the largest alliance system in global history. The US military has bases on all continents with a large population. The dollar is the world's reserve currency, the most widely accepted form of financial exchange and therefore the backbone of the global economy. American diplomats play a role in sensitive negotiations around the world, even those that may not directly affect our interests.
How will the new Trump administration affect other parts of the world?
To see how American policy affects the world, consider the many specific policy issues raised directly by the new Trump administration.
- If the US is reducing its role in NATO or is fully present, how much has peace and stability (western) Europe experienced since World War II? Will Germany expel and develop nuclear weapons? Will the historic European hostility come again?
- Similarly, if the US commitment to the East Asian alliance begins to wobble, will Japan regenerate and nuclearize? Will Korea be at its core as well? And how does China respond?
- If the world's largest economy, the United States, abandons its interest in climate action, how much will other countries file lawsuits? What will happen to global warming around the globe?
- If the US starts to impose large tariffs on other countries, others will certainly retaliate. However, the baseline level of free trade was essential for global prosperity. This is an important reason why the 2008 financial crisis didn't look like a great pression. Will the escalation of the trade war be the setting for global disaster?
- Will Israeli far-right government annex the West Bank if the US abandons traditional support for two state solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
- How much will global disease surveillance and research cooperation suffer if the US actually withdraws from the World Health Organization and other international public health agencies?
- The United States is a global technology powerhouse, and American companies have decided everything from moderating the content of their platforms to how to responsibly develop artificial intelligence. What happens when the US government gives Silicon Valley a free rein and does anything that pleases them in those aspects?
- The United States has served as a guarantor of extremely important global norms since World War II. This means that the state does not use coercion and military force to expand its territory. This led the United States to war with Iraq in 1991 and backed Ukraine in 2022. But if America begins to pressure Denmark to abandon Greenland, or if Panama is pushing for the Panama Canal to give in, what will happen to this already ambitious global norm?
I'm not saying that in each of these cases the worst case scenario will come true. Individually, the odds of a global economic meltdown, a new pandemic, warming above 4 degrees Celsius, or World War III remain relatively low.
Rather, the point is to show how crucial the United States is for all of these issues. As the power of the world's outstanding military, economy, diplomacy, science and culture, its policy decisions always affect everyone on Earth. Even purely domestic issues, like subsidies for green energy production, can have a significant impact on the global market (and) and (and) have (and) greater significance on which technologies and companies are financially viable on a global scale.
Are there any countries that compare to the influential US?
This may surprise you considering all the stories of China's rise. However, in reality, the best available research and evidence suggest that China is quite behind the US in global power.
Military, China is a threat to America's position in East Asia, but it cannot be compared anywhere else with America. Economically, China's economy is stuck with a subtle depth that its leaders seem unable to correct. President Xi Jinping recently announced a new economic programme that is sought to stimulate it. Demographically, China's population is decreasing rapidly, but (gulp) immigration keeps America growing. Political, Chinese-style authoritarian capitalism enjoys only a small portion of the international legitimacy that American-style liberal democracy does. Diplomatically, Washington has ordered a much larger and more powerful alliance network than Beijing.
I've seen it in the past few years Relative Decline – China becomes stronger as the US weakens. But the absolute is still important. And, absolute terms, the US far outperforms China in almost every meaningful global power indicator. What happens in Washington is simply more important than what happens in Beijing, and perhaps they have been doing so for quite some time.
For better or worse, America remains number one. That's why the policy is of great importance to everyone.
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