UW JSIS hosts panel discussion of the global perspective on the 2024 presidential election

China, India, Mexico, the Middle East, and Europe: global perspectives on the U.S. election

Associate Professor Vanessa Freije of the Jackson School of International Studies addresses the audience from the perspective of Mexico during the U.S. Elections: A Global Perspective panel on Thursday, October 17, 2024. Photo by Paige Bajsarowicz

On Oct. 17, the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies (JSIS) hosted a panel discussion, "U.S. Elections: A Global Perspective," at the HUB. The event brought together faculty experts to explore the perceptions of the 2024 United States election across China, India, Mexico, the Middle East, and the European Union.

The panel featured JSIS professors David Bachman, Vanessa Freije, Sunila Kale, Reşat Kasaba, and Sabine Lang, with Anand Yang, professor of international studies and South Asian history, who served as a moderator for the panel. 

"There is certainly no shortage of talk about U.S. elections," Daniel Hoffman, director of the Jackson School said. "But mostly it’s been when we talk about foreign policy and U.S. elections, it’s U.S. perspectives on the globe. Much less common is a conversation about global perspectives on the U.S. election.”

The discussion opened with the question, "What are some of the dominant narratives that prevail in your region?" Each panelist took turns to answer through the lens of their regional expertise. 

Professor David Bachman, an expert on China's domestic and foreign policy and U.S.-China relations, and associate director of Jackson School, discussed China's pragmatic stance in the U.S. election, ready to cooperate with whoever wins the presidency. 

"For China, for the Chinese leadership, the choice is between bad and worse," Bachman said. “So in China … the Chinese Communist Party is putting out the message that it doesn’t care who gets elected. It cares a lot but it wants to say that it’s not interfering…”

Bachman also highlighted that while Taiwan remains the most sensitive issue in U.S. and China relations, the economic ties between the U.S. and China stay interdependent despite tariffs, decoupling efforts, and political tensions.

Professor Sabine Lang, an expert in comparative European politics, civil society, and gender politics, added on by sharing Europe’s perspective. She reported that Europe is closely following the U.S. election and that it is very high on the agenda of European constituencies, but with little optimism that the next U.S. administration will prioritize Europe in its foreign policy.

"Most Europeans see this election as maybe the most important since World War II," Lang said. For instance, Western and Southern European countries are particularly concerned about what a second Trump term could mean for NATO's future and immigration policies, as European nations seek to preserve stability in transatlantic cooperation. 

For India, Professor Sunila Kale, an expert on Indian politics and the political economy of development, highlighted the growing influence of the Indian diaspora in U.S. politics and explained how caste, religion, and political interests shape diaspora leadership and engagement across party lines, influencing U.S. policy. 

Exploring how Mexico's media attention has evolved since the 2016 U.S. elections, professor Vanessa Freije, chair of Latin American and Caribbean studies, and an expert in media and politics in Latin America, shared her insights.

“I think for one reason, it’s because Mexico just elected its first woman president, and there was a lot of attention and excitement and enthusiasm around that election…" Freije said. “So a lot of media attention has been focused on Mexico’s own elections.”

Meanwhile, the border issue remains critical between the two countries following the U.S. push to expand its border control responsibilities further South. "The way the U.S. polices its southern border is very directly tied to pressure of how Mexico should police its own southern border," Freije said.

Professor Reşat Kasaba, an expert in Middle Eastern history and politics, explained a consistent cynicism toward U.S. foreign policy across administrations in the region. 

“This group also has real family connections to the region, and they are not only following this, but they are feeling the direct effect of what's going on, and it's very hard for them to kind of put that aside and think about this election only in terms of their position … in American society,” Kasaba said.

According to Kasaba, despite the general sense that a new administration will not bring significant changes, true progress requires sincere engagement and listening, and greater inclusion of regional voices in the decision-making process. 

The event ended with a lively Q&A session, where students, faculty, and panelists further explored regional perspectives on the 2024 U.S. election with hopes and concerns about its outcome.

"I hope students that were here … also recognize that the University of Washington has a lot of expertise and a lot of great, great depth of knowledge about what’s going on in the world and how things are connected; how the global connections are there,” Hoffman said. “This kind of public programming is a really important part of what we do at the Jackson school and what we do at the University of Washington.”