18 September 2024

What Harris and Trump Will Do

Ian Bremmer, Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Anders Åslund, Shang-Jin Wei, Joseph E. Stiglitz & Daron Acemoglu

With her energetic demeanor, fluid delivery, and skillful handling of her opponent, US Vice President Kamala Harris came across very differently in her recent debate against Donald Trump than US President Joe Biden did in June. But it is not only presentation that sets Harris apart from Biden, let alone Trump.

While there is “plenty of overlap” between Harris and Biden’s worldviews and foreign-policy preferences, writesIan Bremmer, Founder and President of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media, there is also “significant daylight” between them. In particular, Harris is far less inclined to view international relations as a “struggle between democracies and autocracies,” with the US “always” acting as a “force for good.” When it comes to exercising power in a “more contested and multipolar world,” she is warier of “unintended consequences” and would probably favor “multilateral approaches over unilateral interventions.”

Trump certainly does not share Harris’s commitment to multilateralism, points outJoseph S. Nye, Jr., of the Aspen Strategy Group. To be sure, “there will be large areas of continuity in US foreign policy” no matter who wins in November, such as with regard to China. But whereas Harris would work to reinforce US alliances and promote multilateralism, Trump would most likely embrace unilateralism, particularly on issues such as NATO to Ukraine.

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