US foreign policy after the election: will it make a difference who wins?

Abstract

Since the end of the Cold War, the US’s dominant place in the global economic and security orders has strengthened. But these orders face dramatic change. International economic institutions are re-grouping in the wake of recent currency crises and the Seattle meeting of the WTO. Kosovo, East Timor and Chechnya have demonstrated the increasingly difficult dilemma of how international security systems balance respect for a state’s sovereignty with popular demands for humanitarian intervention by other powers. Following his election in November, the new U.S. President will face foreign policy decisions which could result in fundamental changes, ranging from quasi-isolaitonism and aggressive unilateralism at one end of the spectrum, to the U.S. pursuing an engaged ‘international citizen’ and multilateralist role at the other. Which path will the new President follow