President Donald Trump Administration has taken the United States out of the world's policing system, a professor of international relations said.
Prof Shahab Enam Khan, at the Department of International Relations, Jahangirnagar University, said: “Trump is the first US president elected for the US only, not for the whole world.”
The South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) and the Department of Political Science and Sociology (PSS) at North South University organised the webinar titled "US Presidential Election 2020 and Asia-US Relations" on Saturday.
The webinar's objectives were to analyse the US election and electoral process, relations between Asia and the US, and the election's impact on Asia's rising geopolitics.
While issues such as racial conflict, the rise of far-right and white supremacists, the movement of Black Lives Matter (BLM), the mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis, and the impact of climate change have created heated debate within the US, the process of de-globalization, unilateralism, trade war, and the anti-immigration policy has divided public opinion both within and outside the US more than ever before.
If Joe Biden wins, he would bring about a fundamental change in the US foreign relations drawing on a more “democratic, humanitarian, and human rights friendly perspectives,” according to former Senior Foreign Secretary, currently Senior Fellow at SIPG, NSU, Md Shahidul Haque.
As a panelist, Dr. Ali Riaz, Distinguished Professor at the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University, USA, said Donald Trump had polarised US society, he has instigated the whites against the immigrants, and he has given a kind of legitimacy of the White supremacists in the US socio-politics.
Dr. Mahbubur Rahman, Professor at the Department of Political Science and Sociology at North South University, said that if any allegations arise in the upcoming US election, then there might be a possibility of social unrest in the US.
To talk about the impact of the US election 2020 on the South Asian geopolitics, Dr. M Sakhawat Hussain, Senior Fellow, SIPG of NSU, said, in South Asia, the US's interest in India. The rising tension between China and India has made India interested to adopt a US-centric policy.
Referring to the US election from East and Southeast Asian perspectives, former Ambassador of Bangladesh in China, Munshi Faiz Ahmad, said both Trump and Biden are on the same boat in targeting China's dominance.
He opined that most of the countries in East and South-East Asia are hoping Biden to be the next US president.
On the other hand, to talk about the India-US relations, Dr. Raj Kumar Kothari, Professor at the Department of Political Science at Vidyasagar University, West Bengali, India, said, even if Joe Biden comes to power, the relation between Indian and the US will be strengthened because without India the expansion of the US relations in Asia is not possible.
Vice-Chancellor of North South University Prof Atiqul Islam mentioned in his speech as the Chair of the Webinar that “we need strong leadership to establish a global village ensuring democracy without hatred and racism”.
“The emergence of a populist political trend globally may not be solved if Donald Trump loses; however, the role of Joe Biden will certainly bring positive changes,” he said.
Director of SIPG and the Department of Political Science and Sociology Professor Sk. Tawfique moderated the webinar.