US election raises doubts over Japan-US alliance

Subject The implications for Japan of the US presidential election. Significance US presidential election campaign rhetoric has sparked serious concerns in Japan about Washington's commitment to the East Asia region in the context of a long-term rise in geopolitical tensions. Republican candidate Donald Trump has publicly questioned the value of the US-Japan alliance, while Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton has muted her previous support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, seen as the economic component of the US 'rebalance' to Asia under President Barack Obama's administration. Impacts Doubts about the US commitment to the region work to Beijing's advantage. The US government's likely failure to ratify the TPP will damage perceptions of Washington's commitment to the region. Though occasionally mooted, the idea of developing nuclear weapons is a non-starter in Japan.

Subject Cybersecurity tensions in the China-US relationship. Significance In the run-up to President Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington later this month, US officials have discussed plans to impose economic sanctions on Chinese organisations and individuals found to have engaged in cyberattacks against US targets. The national security and economic implications of cyber tensions are becoming increasingly manifest while space for an agreement seems to be shrinking. Impacts Cyber affairs will be one of the most important bellwethers for the broader China-US relationship. There is potential for escalation and spillover, particularly given the growing prominence of hawkish voices on both sides. There is a long-term risk of diverging technical standards. The approach of the US presidential election makes compromises more difficult.


Significance He leaves office having failed to achieve his ambition to reform Japan’s constitution, and is widely seen as having mismanaged the most serious public health crisis in decades. Impacts New foreign policy initiatives are unlikely until after the US presidential election. Abe could make a decision before leaving office on whether Japan should acquire pre-emptive strike capabilities. No moves on constitution revision are likely for the next twelve months at least. Japan would be at a disadvantage if a foreign policy crisis were to occur in the next twelve months, and the next few weeks in particular. Whether the Olympics next summer go well will have some influence on whether Suga stays on as leader.


Significance Signs that Democratic candidate Joe Biden is likely to secure a narrow victory in the US presidential election will boost the Commission’s hopes for global consensus and better transatlantic dialogue on digital taxes. Impacts Despite Brexit, the United Kingdom will support EU calls for a digital tax. The list of countries imposing unilateral digital taxes will continue to grow as pandemic-induced recession bites. The precise bipartisan balance of the US Senate will determine the extent of tech-related policy changes under Biden.


Subject 'Brexit' polling. Significance On June 23, the pound swung wildly: final polls on whether the United Kingdom should leave the EU ('Brexit') had shown a 4-percentage-point lead for 'Remain', only for the final result to be the opposite. Pollsters have been criticised for their failure to predict both this result and the 2015 UK general election outcome, even as qualitative analysts have also been criticised for missing the results. Impacts The US presidential election is immune from most polling failures, given its hyper-coverage and the discrete decisions of swing states. US Senate and House of Representatives elections are much more difficult to poll, leading to likely market volatility in early November. Changes in communication methods are sparking debates about how a representative sample of the population can be reached best.


Subject Prospects for Russian foreign policy in 2017. Significance President Vladimir Putin and senior Russian officials have hailed Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election. Putin acknowledged that repairing bilateral relations would not be easy. Although some of Trump's campaign remarks will have pleased Moscow, the lack of clarity on what he will do in office means that a rapid 'reset' is not in sight. Moscow aspires to being treated as an equal superpower with its own spheres of interest, and has deployed military power and strong rhetoric to win this. The result is a deteriorating relationship with Western governments.


Subject The outlook for remittance inflows. Significance Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) was the only region in the world that registered an increase in family remittances last year. Impacts The rise in 'extra' remittances after last year's US presidential election will not be repeated this year. The taxing of remittances could partially reverse many years of efforts to lower sending costs. Increased employment in the US construction sector could help sustain remittances to LAC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 831-856
Author(s):  
Damian J. Rivers ◽  
Andrew S. Ross

Abstract The construction of a wall along the US/Mexico border was one of the main political platforms upon which the 2016 US presidential election campaign was fought. Ahead of the upcoming 2020 US presidential election, and with the border wall still not yet built or funded, this article uses the authorisation component of Van Leeuwen’s (2007) framework for the discourse of legitimation to show how President Donald J. Trump has sought legitimacy for the construction of the border wall. Data is taken from Trump’s @realDonaldTrump Twitter postings between October 18th, 2018 and February 3rd, 2019, a period inclusive of the longest federal government shutdown in US history. We show how Trump’s Twitter language is frequently accompanied by evidence-less attacks on sources of rival opinion or information, while the president tends to reaffirm himself as the exclusive source of credible and truthful information.


2020 ◽  
pp. 58-71
Author(s):  
P.A. Rachev ◽  

More than 80% of US population live in metropolitan areas. Voting in agglomerations largely determines the outcome of the presidential, or any other, elections. The electoral processes inside high-density territories are a derivative of settlement peculiarities, and socio-economic status, ethnic and racial composition of people at these areas. Researchers record the increase of polarization level in recent decades. This increase closely related to the population’s political preferences. Polarization can lead to the disunity of society, a reduction in socio-economic interactions and to local isolationism in the long term. This article analyzes the results of the US presidential election at the level of metropolitan areas in the period of 2000–2016 and shows the distribution of all 382 agglomerations depending on the voting results within their boundaries. It is also revealing the spatial patterns of locations of these agglomerations. The article determined that more than two-thirds of all agglomeration’s population has stable electoral preferences, and also provides evidence of the ongoing and, in some cases, intensifying process of “The Big Sort” and an increase of polarization level in US urban population.


Significance Unlike in most previous presidential election years, many of the protests against the current nomination process for both parties have assumed an existential quality, with many left-leaning Democrats wanting to alter the power of party leadership, and many Republicans seeking to prevent another Donald Trump-like insurgent campaign in the future. Impacts This year's record number of unaffiliated 'independent' voters nevertheless are likely to vote along partisan lines. Left-leaning activists will seek to diminish the official powers of the Democratic Party leadership. The US electoral system will continue to advantage both major parties, though lesser parties may increase their vote totals this cycle.


Subject US political enfranchisement and voter behaviour. Significance With eleven months until the 2020 federal elections, the Democratic Party celebrated some significant victories last month in elections in Virginia, Kentucky and Louisiana, reflecting gains among college-educated white voters in suburbs and perhaps foreshadowing Democratic gains next year. At the same time, the candidate field for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination is starting to narrow. The Democrats want to win back the US presidency, but recent polling suggests that Republican President Donald Trump maintains an advantage in the Electoral College system that determines who becomes president. Impacts Trump will focus on winning states with many Electoral College votes, such as Pennsylvania and Florida. Trump’s Democratic opponent will target the same states and will try to flip others to the Democrats. Voters’ faith in the electoral system will be eroded if there is further evidence of foreign interference efforts. Concerns about democracy at home could make promoting democracy overseas harder for the US government. Greater polarisation could increase the risk of direction action, protests and violence.


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