Election Day

It’s election day in the US. Happy to have not been in the US these past few weeks. The barrage of ads has been like no other year. I occasionally record some shows/sporting events from an online US television access and I have the pleasure of clicking past all of the, often nasty, political advertisements. Though I don’t watch them, I know they’re there. Almost everyone is twisting realities. It’s painful viewing.

As everyone probably knows, the world is watching. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions, US foreign policy has been somewhat of an ongoing train wreck the past few years – certainly as viewed from abroad. I’ve mentioned in the past that the reputation of the US has taken a beating under this administration. I realize there are many in the US that could care less about that but in making America great again, that would have been a good thing not to neglect. There is a sense that, with the exception of a few key areas, the administration showed very little interest in partners and allies around the world. When major events happened, the US was nowhere to be found. When tragedies happened, condolences were not expressed for the victims. It’s been a complete disregard that has been felt throughout the world. The leadership vacuum has been filled by China, Russia, France, etc. This is eroding US power on the world stage and the loss of the hard-fought leverage will no doubt harm US interests in the long term, if not the short term.

One of the key issues is the president’s disdain for multilateral mechanisms, including the WHO (in the midst of a global pandemic), the Paris Agreement (as the climate unravels), NATO, the Iran deal, and others. While this has been tragic, it can, and should, be undone in the near future. It’s okay to be tough on NATO to get members to pay a greater share, but while the lack of respect for the institution was popular with Putin, it was viewed with disdain, and sometimes fear, by US allies. It’s okay to express displeasure with the management of WHO, but you don’t remove funding during a pandemic with hundreds of thousands of people dying. And there’s nothing okay with pulling out of the Paris Agreement.

Though there are loads of questionable policy decisions, the aspect of the train wreck that is closer to me has been the president’s lack of interest in Africa. Not a single visit to the continent. President Obama visited six African countries during his presidency. I was critical of several of George W. Bush’s foreign policy decisions but the man was generally kind to Africa and visited ten countries. Clinton’s team missed the warning signs in Rwanda leading to the genocide and ignored some other things but he recognized it (after the fact) and nonetheless visited eight countries (and visited many times after his presidency). Carter, Bush Sr. all visited the continent. But President Trump never saw fit to make the trip. The only thing I can think of is that he doesn’t have much respect for “sh**hole countries” to use his own term. I read the other day someone saying that he’s essentially been focusing on making America great again and not seeing how Africa is relevant to that end. And, related to that, he has been focused on his core and his re-election almost since his election.

In any case, it’s short-sighted. Africa has the fastest growing economies in the world. Many countries, particularly China, are aware of this and have invested heavily. The US is missing out on a huge growth opportunity. Though many of these newer partnerships are exploitative, many others are mutually beneficial. Economies on both sides are benefiting. Better to create jobs than to give aid.

There’s a lot at stake. There will be a lot of drama over the next few days. And no, I’m not going to stay up to watch the results. Who knows how long it will take to see how this comes out. May the best man win. And I truly mean that.