It is excellent news that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will win the race for the White House. But, could four years of a US liberal foreign policy settle on the international stage some confidence, tolerance and demonstrate positive leadership about immigration, Brexit, climate change, trade and economic relations?
Will US Congress now support a free trade agreement with the UK in light of the Good Friday Agreement and the Brexit emerging complexities?
There is a temptation that people perceive the US international political arena as less relevant for the local UK state of affairs; however, others argue that they are strong dependencies between one and the other. The argument relies on the US platform amplified by traditional mainstream media, online and social media, and inevitably by setting up an example for other countries.
Evidence shows apparent differences between the previous administration led by Trump driving a republican agenda and one potentially steered by Biden, who represents liberal principles. These guiding principles are similar to the differences in views within the UK between the current government’s conservative decisions that triggered and sustained an austerity regime over the last ten years and the opposition that supported more liberal societal-centric values, which might attract a different type of risks.
The similarities between the two main forces within the US and the two main forces in the UK become clear when measured based on emerging evidence of pressures of immigration, Brexit, social injustice, and diversity matters. Equally, one may argue that the increase between the rich and those increasingly becoming more dependent on food banks, social benefits, and more broadly struggling to make ends meet is also a function of less than sustainable political decisions.
Whilst recognising these similarities, one case study of the UK police forces demonstrates that the root cause of the current state (~2020) of policing within the UK does originate from political decisions made in the last decade. Given the influence the US has over the UK and the similarities between the two main parties dividing Americans’ views and those impacting the UK politics, it does become relevant for the UK whether the US leadership steers towards liberalism values or otherwise.