Читать книгу American Presidential Elections in a Comparative Perspective - Группа авторов - Страница 13

During the 2016 American presidential election, foreigners observed and evaluated the state of American politics. They were attentive to the candidate’s statements on the mass media, immigration, terrorism, international institutions, foreign policy, the economy, and so on. The candidates’ campaign promises and the possibility that the United States would take a new political direction were of vital interest to leaders and citizens alike in many countries around the world. Outside the United States, people are acutely aware that US foreign policy and US domestic policy can directly affect their countries.

Many observers saw the 2015–2016 election cycle as evidence of the decline of American democracy. In their view, the deterioration of American democracy manifested itself in the growth of income inequality in the United States; the prominent role of the commercial and sensationalistic media in the political campaigns; the growing salience of social problems such as racism and xenophobia; and the apparent erosion of key institutions of the American political system. Many other topics were addressed during the presidential campaign—including international terrorism, drug consumption in America—but these four themes captured sustained public attention in a wide range of countries.

As several authors in this volume argue, many foreigners held views of the United States and the 2016 presidential election that were far more critical than views held when Barack Obama was elected in 2008. This reflects a general pessimism about the route the United State has taken a sense of the impending collapse of the American political system, and a hope that their own countries will not follow the same path. This critical perspective is often associated more with Donald Trump than with Hillary Clinton (although she garnered her fair share of criticism). For many, Trump embodies the decay of the American system.