(no subject)
Why I Care about the US Election
I got to bed at half past six this morning. As my car dropped me off, light was dawning on a new day, and upon a new era in global governance. My normal sleeping hours had been spent at an election party in London. We listened to speeches from prominent English politicians, watched three different news channels, and drank ourselves slightly stupid as we waited for states to call 'Republican' or 'Democrat'. The definitive announcement that Obama had been elected President Elect came at around four in the morning. I was sitting with an American colleague. She was utterly speechless; overwhelmed, and that spoke for many of us. Despite our greatest hopes for Obama '08, the Presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 have made many people wary about the reliability of the American electoral system (and, indeed, the sentiments of its people).
But none of this answers the question. Why should I, as a British citizen, care about an election in a totally different country? Why should any of us? America is, after all, a totally separate state on a different continent, with different laws, taxes; even a different voting system, in which we play no direct part. Increasingly, I have watched British people rolling their eyes and asking why we should get involved in American politics. Even some Americans seem to wonder why on earth we care; many even question the validity of our opinions, as non-citizens.
To me, as a Politics graduate with a compulsive news addiction, the reasons why British people should care seem self-evident. But here I will try to explain why I burst into tears the first time I saw Obama as President, smiling with his wife and daughters. Why I stayed up all night and am, as a result, comprehensively knackered.
First of all, there is the matter of global governance and supranationalism. Put simply, most important decisions are no longer made by one country alone. 'Supranationalism' can be defined as 'outside or beyond the authority of one national government, as a project or policy that is planned and controlled by a group of nations'. Many aspects of policymaking today have become supranational; beyond the remit of one single government. Innovations in technology and transport, as well as our growing interdependence in trade, mean that a decision made in Washington can most definitely affect us in London. There are endless examples of this happening. Even in the current global recession, America plays a leading role in the global economy. This means that, as a power, it has a significant cultural and financial influence on the rest of the world. If America decides to give a nation 'most favoured nation' trade status (which means trading with them on better terms than other countries), this will boost that country's economy immensely. Conversely, if America does not favour a country, its economy is likely to suffer (America has a trade bloc on Cuban goods, which partially explains why Cuba is still a developing country).
Another key economic example is the plain fact that many companies today are international. After Enron's collapse, America introduced a far more stringent set of regulations on how to prevent corporate crimes. Last month, I interned with an international PR firm which started in America. Because of Enron, I had to sit through an hour-long IT presentation on the rights and wrongs of intellectual property and computer privacy. This is just one example of American companies implementing such changes across their practices internationally. So, working in Britain, I am still influenced by American lawmakers.
There are also some issues which simply cannot be dealt with on a national level any longer, because they affect us all. As a leading power both economically and culturally, America's stance on global warming is important to everyone. If America were to elect a president who does not believe that global warming is man-made, this would have grave consequences for the rest of the world. This is not an idle fear, either: Sarah Palin, a likely 2012 Presidential candidate, does not believe that global warming is man-made.
America's foreign policies also affect us in Britain. Britain's favourable relationship with America means that we feel obliged to follow America on many key decisions, including the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. It is simple: without America's involvement in these countries, we would not have troops there. Regardless of the rights or wrongs of the occupation, America's actions have meant that Britain has expended considerable resources (money and soldiers) in these countries.
These are just a few examples of why America's choice of President and political party is important to the world as a whole. There are plenty more (America's stand on civil liberties and how this affects the rest of the world is an essay in itself, which I'm sure has already been written). The American political system is far more polarised than the moderate 'Third Way' politics which characterise Britain today. Perhaps this explains the apathy so many people feel towards American politics; British politics are so much designed to appeal to the widest common denominator that we assume that things are the same way in America. Well, they're not. The difference between a Republican and Democrat government has a profound influence on the rest of the world in terms of culture, foreign policy, global warming, the economy and other supranational issues. The term 'global citizen' is often bandied around, but I do feel that it is my individual responsibility to pay attention to what goes on around the world. The American government dictates much of the news. It really is just that simple.
I'm not mouthing off about Americans who don't vote Democrat - everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But am I entitled to my own educated viewpoint, as a Brit, on American politics? Yes. Absolutely. We are in America's backyard, and I refuse to close my eyes to that fact. Why does Obama being elected mean so much to me? Well, call me naive, but I do genuinely believe that this man stands for change in the status quo. It is not only a victory for progressive politics, but a historic day for civil rights. And a landslide majority of Americans seem to agree with me.
I got to bed at half past six this morning. As my car dropped me off, light was dawning on a new day, and upon a new era in global governance. My normal sleeping hours had been spent at an election party in London. We listened to speeches from prominent English politicians, watched three different news channels, and drank ourselves slightly stupid as we waited for states to call 'Republican' or 'Democrat'. The definitive announcement that Obama had been elected President Elect came at around four in the morning. I was sitting with an American colleague. She was utterly speechless; overwhelmed, and that spoke for many of us. Despite our greatest hopes for Obama '08, the Presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 have made many people wary about the reliability of the American electoral system (and, indeed, the sentiments of its people).
But none of this answers the question. Why should I, as a British citizen, care about an election in a totally different country? Why should any of us? America is, after all, a totally separate state on a different continent, with different laws, taxes; even a different voting system, in which we play no direct part. Increasingly, I have watched British people rolling their eyes and asking why we should get involved in American politics. Even some Americans seem to wonder why on earth we care; many even question the validity of our opinions, as non-citizens.
To me, as a Politics graduate with a compulsive news addiction, the reasons why British people should care seem self-evident. But here I will try to explain why I burst into tears the first time I saw Obama as President, smiling with his wife and daughters. Why I stayed up all night and am, as a result, comprehensively knackered.
First of all, there is the matter of global governance and supranationalism. Put simply, most important decisions are no longer made by one country alone. 'Supranationalism' can be defined as 'outside or beyond the authority of one national government, as a project or policy that is planned and controlled by a group of nations'. Many aspects of policymaking today have become supranational; beyond the remit of one single government. Innovations in technology and transport, as well as our growing interdependence in trade, mean that a decision made in Washington can most definitely affect us in London. There are endless examples of this happening. Even in the current global recession, America plays a leading role in the global economy. This means that, as a power, it has a significant cultural and financial influence on the rest of the world. If America decides to give a nation 'most favoured nation' trade status (which means trading with them on better terms than other countries), this will boost that country's economy immensely. Conversely, if America does not favour a country, its economy is likely to suffer (America has a trade bloc on Cuban goods, which partially explains why Cuba is still a developing country).
Another key economic example is the plain fact that many companies today are international. After Enron's collapse, America introduced a far more stringent set of regulations on how to prevent corporate crimes. Last month, I interned with an international PR firm which started in America. Because of Enron, I had to sit through an hour-long IT presentation on the rights and wrongs of intellectual property and computer privacy. This is just one example of American companies implementing such changes across their practices internationally. So, working in Britain, I am still influenced by American lawmakers.
There are also some issues which simply cannot be dealt with on a national level any longer, because they affect us all. As a leading power both economically and culturally, America's stance on global warming is important to everyone. If America were to elect a president who does not believe that global warming is man-made, this would have grave consequences for the rest of the world. This is not an idle fear, either: Sarah Palin, a likely 2012 Presidential candidate, does not believe that global warming is man-made.
America's foreign policies also affect us in Britain. Britain's favourable relationship with America means that we feel obliged to follow America on many key decisions, including the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. It is simple: without America's involvement in these countries, we would not have troops there. Regardless of the rights or wrongs of the occupation, America's actions have meant that Britain has expended considerable resources (money and soldiers) in these countries.
These are just a few examples of why America's choice of President and political party is important to the world as a whole. There are plenty more (America's stand on civil liberties and how this affects the rest of the world is an essay in itself, which I'm sure has already been written). The American political system is far more polarised than the moderate 'Third Way' politics which characterise Britain today. Perhaps this explains the apathy so many people feel towards American politics; British politics are so much designed to appeal to the widest common denominator that we assume that things are the same way in America. Well, they're not. The difference between a Republican and Democrat government has a profound influence on the rest of the world in terms of culture, foreign policy, global warming, the economy and other supranational issues. The term 'global citizen' is often bandied around, but I do feel that it is my individual responsibility to pay attention to what goes on around the world. The American government dictates much of the news. It really is just that simple.
I'm not mouthing off about Americans who don't vote Democrat - everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But am I entitled to my own educated viewpoint, as a Brit, on American politics? Yes. Absolutely. We are in America's backyard, and I refuse to close my eyes to that fact. Why does Obama being elected mean so much to me? Well, call me naive, but I do genuinely believe that this man stands for change in the status quo. It is not only a victory for progressive politics, but a historic day for civil rights. And a landslide majority of Americans seem to agree with me.