World History: A Francophile's View of the U.S. Presidential Election Part II

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Category: World News - Europe

Published on Monday, 11 November 2024 10:07

Written by Olivier Longhi

If Donald Trump's re-election has revealed the limits of representative democracy in the United States, the election should also serve as a means for a new reflection on the future of political Europe and its relations with America.

It is an understatement to say that the re-election of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States has caused an earthquake both in the United States and on the rest of the planet. And some are already drawing the consequences of this election described as historic which opposed the supporters of a hard and populist democracy to those of an open and multicultural democracy.

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In Europe, the results of the election, feared although feared in advance, have generated a wave of various and varied comments on the future of the alliance between the United States and the Old Continent. Rightly so, because Donald Trump's ambitions in the White House are quite contradictory to those nurtured by the European Union. Are we to understand with this election that the United States will gradually detach itself from Europe, as General De Gaulle prophesied in his time?

Customs Duties

This is a likely hypothesis, since the new tenant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is in no way a fervent supporter of multilateralism, also abhors NATO and wonders about the need to turn to Europe if not to burden it with prohibitive customs duties or to resell various North American products.

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On the other side of the Atlantic, paths are now being raised to transform this election into an opportunity for Europe to detach itself from the United States and finally cut the umbilical cord that has linked it to the New World since 1945, or even more, to finally gain its autonomy and independence. Surely. The bet is daring and would, if it were kept and fulfilled, prove to be fraught with consequences of global dimensions.

But the question that arises with regard to this ambition is twofold: Do Europeans want to and are they able to detach themselves from the United States? Does Western Europe, fiercely attached to NATO and reassured by the presence, even remotely, of Uncle Sam, have the economic, financial, human, diplomatic and military means to free itself from the United States?

In view of the tensions, including the Ukrainian conflict, that are sweeping across the Old Continent and political Europe, the answer is clearly no. Does she want to? The question is an old one and refers to Europe's intrinsic desire to assume its own responsibilities without fearing the wrath of the star-spangled banner.

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Single Currency and Threat

However, this desire for emancipation could also provoke new tensions with the United States, potentially irritated by the desire for independence of a Europe eager to chart its own path. Because the tools exist: the European Union, a single currency, an economy that is ultimately quite robust, a favourable geographical location because it is at the crossroads of two continents, Asia and Africa, and an opening to the Atlantic world via an eponymous ocean.

Many would cite, and rightly so, the Russian ogre present in Africa and a threat to Eastern Europe. Surely. But neither Vladimir Putin nor Donald Trump will last forever. And if history often stutters, it does not repeat the dishes twice. Understand that if Europe wants to detach itself from the United States without breaking off definitively like a child leaves the family home, the time may have come. And the democratic crisis revealed by the election of Donald Trump should perhaps also serve as a means for a new reflection on what Europe wants to be and become. But she still has to want it...

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Bio: Olivier Longhi has extensive experience in European history. A seasoned journalist with fifteen years of experience, he is currently a professor of history and geography in the Toulouse region of France. He has held a variety of publishing positions, including Head of Agency and Chief of Publishing. A journalist and recognized blogger, editor, and editorial project manager, he has trained and managed editorial teams, worked as a journalist for various local radio stations, was a press and publishing consultant, and was a communications consultant.