The Future of Multilateralism is on the Ballot
A Biden triumph would repudiate the “America First” platform, but can it overcome the lasting damage Trump has done to America’s standing and credibility?
Originally published at World Politics Review
By experts and staff
- Published
By
- Stewart M. PatrickJames H. Binger Senior Fellow in Global Governance and Director of the International Institutions and Global Governance Program
In my weekly column for World Politics Review, I examine the major implications of a Biden presidential election win for global cooperation on climate change, global health, nuclear nonproliferation, global trade, human rights, and a rules-based international order.
Should Joe Biden win the American presidency on Nov. 3, the world will experience whiplash, as the United States performs a second about-face in its posture toward multilateralism in only four years. Although the U.S. has oscillated through cycles of internationalism and isolationism before, it has never executed such a swift and dramatic double-reverse. A Biden triumph would repudiate the “America First” platform on which Donald Trump won the White House in 2016, and the hyper-nationalist, unilateralist and sovereigntist mindset that undergirds it. Such a stunning shift in America’s global orientation would have major implications for global cooperation on everything from climate change, health and nuclear proliferation to trade and human rights, as well as for U.S. relations with its Western allies.
Read the full World Politics Review article here.