The presidential election in the United States has entered a new phase after the first TV debate between the two candidates, former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump, and President Joe Biden, the candidate of the Democrat Party. The two candidates have clashed over many issues, including foreign policy, immigration and the Palestinian-Israeli question. After the TV debate, both the American public and the world public have discussed many dimensions of the face-off. It is clear that the debate has revealed a leadership crisis in the U.S., which will have implications for the world system.
The first and most important feature of the candidates in the coming elections is their age. The American people are forced to choose one of the two old men. Biden is 81 years old, while Trump is 78 years old. On the one hand, Biden is a weak and sick man, who is unable to talk effectively or to walk. He has had many physical shortcomings. On the other hand, Trump is also very old and an unpredictable man. The American people are doomed to choose between the two. Taking the two old candidates into consideration, it seems that the U.S. cannot train or raise politicians or statespeople anymore.
The second most important feature of the candidates is their ideologies. In the last presidential elections, Trump lost the election but received a record number of votes. American people chose between a far-rightist and a democratic personality in 2020. However, considering their foreign policies and their unconditional support for Israel, the two candidates share a similar ideology.
On the one hand, President Biden has been repeatedly declaring himself as a Zionist, a follower of an ideology that was declared as a racist ideology by the United Nations General Assembly in 1975. On the other hand, Trump is known as an ultra-nationalist and far-rightist personality. Trump has even accused Biden of being “pro-Palestinian” during the debate, claiming that he would do anything to ensure the Israeli success. The next presidential elections will be held between a Zionist Biden and an ultra-Zionist Trump. There is no other choice for the American people.
Third, the two candidates, the last two administrations, were not successful in mobilizing certain state institutions. There is a rising level of disorganization and fragmentation of state institutions. Each state institution pursues bureaucratic policies that will contribute to its bureaucratic position. Certain institutions control the U.S. policy toward certain regions. For instance, the U.S. policy toward the Middle East is largely shaped by the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), rather than by the White House. The harmony between American government institutions has broken down. Each of the American foreign policy institutions follows a different path in their foreign relations.
Fourth, it seems that the two candidates will continue to follow unilateral foreign policies. By following an interventionist and unilateral foreign policy, the U.S. has been pushing other countries, including its allies, to follow competitive and conflictual policies. Since the U.S. is an exemplary country, most states follow in the footsteps of the hegemon. On one hand, the U.S. allies began to question the U.S. trust and credibility in regional crises. The U.S. does not consult with its allies while determining its stance toward regional crises. On the other hand, rival countries such as Russia and China have begun to follow ultra-nationalistic and unilateral foreign policies, which will make international politics more antagonistic and the world more conflictual.
Fifth, both Biden and Trump do not build their foreign policies based on international order and principles. Thus, both of them undermine the role of international institutions. The weakening of international institutions that used to be instrumentalized by the U.S. will further worsen international instability and damage international security.
Sixth, there is no European wiseman to control and balance the negative role of the leader of the most powerful state in the world, the U.S. president. Weak and shallow European politicians cannot play a decisive role in their relations with the U.S. On the contrary, the rise of far-rightist political parties in Europe will have negative effects on the U.S. presidential elections. The more powerful the representatives of the far-right, the more the Western countries will otherize the non-Western countries. Eventually, they will feel threatened not only by Russia or China but also by any other non-Western state.
