Waiting For Obama: The First Global Election

With the George W. Bush presidency coming to a close, global observers anticipate greater international engagement from the US. Students in countries like Syria, Peru and Bolivia are particularly amazed that the US voters might possibly select minority Barack Obama, whose father was an immigrant and whose name is not traditionally European, explains Derek Shearer, a former ambassador to Finland and one-time supporter of Obama’s leading Democratic opponent, Senator Hillary Clinton. Republican John McCain and Democrat Obama differ on approaches to the economy and the Iraq war, and Shearer argues that other countries would prefer active US involvement throughout the world and not just the Middle East. Much of the world has come to realize that globalization is not Americanization: “The good news is that contrary to the beliefs of some anti-American voices, there is no American Ruling Class Committee in charge of pushing globalization on an unwilling world,” Shearer writes. “The bad news, of course, is that no one is in charge of the global economy.” During speaking engagements at universities outside the United States, Shearer reminds students that they need not wait for an American president to solve problems and can immediately get to work improving economic and social policies in their own nations and communities. – YaleGlobal