American leadership and the international community after Covid-19

Abstract

Since the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, America has been in the throes of internal poli tical conflict which goes beyond the usual confusion that accompanies an election year in the United States. Indeed, “[t]he pandemic has fed a raging case of partisan polarization for which there is as yet no treatment or vaccine” and “has revealed that the United States is reaching a systemic breaking point”. Among the consequences of this American domestic political crisis are the impacts on American leadership in the world, and pointedly, on the perception of America as a world leader. These developments have taken a toll on American leadership in the world, which was already challenged by the Trump Doctrine2 with its focus on isolationism, causing America to withdraw from its usual position of leading the way for the rest of the world and maintaining a liberal rules- -based international order. America’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord and other multilateral and international commitments exemplifies this dynamic.