In the United States of America, Biden’s contested victory in the presidential election against incumbent Donald Trump has been heaped in controversy.
Trump, who has not accepted the results and continues to claim victory, declared that he would carry the results to the judiciary, arguing that the Democrats commited voter fraud.
On the streets, fights between Biden supporters and Trump supporters have been ongoing.
Fears about the polarization that started before the election in the country are increasing.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) published a report and stated that the 59th presidential election in the US, held on 3 November, was held in a highly polarized political environment. The OSCE noted in its report that the election took place in a high level of participation, tough and competitive atmosphere.
We asked the experts the possible repercussions of a Biden-headed-United States for inland affairs, Turkey, and international politics.
‘AS THE USA CONTINUES TO COERCE US, WE FIND NEW WAYS’
International relations specialist Prof. Dr. Emin Gürses made the following assessment regarding the US elections:
“It does not matter who is elected in the US, because presidents do not matter: the Pentagon is the decision maker. The Pentagon determines foreign policy, this does not change, there is an established system in the country. The same is true of the country’s own situation. Therefore, with Biden, the economic impoverishment of the US will continue, as the impoverishment continues, racism will increase, segregation and polarization are meant to increase. The results have no significant importance in terms of Turkey. In other words, when the US coerces us into something, be it Trump or Biden, there is no difference. However, we find new channels every time the US coerces us. When the embargo was put against Turkey after the military landing in Cyprus in 1975, Turkey started to produce arms, establishing the 4th Army. So as the West coerces us into something, we find better solutions.”
‘THE US IN THE PROCESS OF COLLAPSE’
International Relations Specialist Prof. Dr. Hasan Köni evaluated the US election process and its aftermath as follows:
“After the period of abundance, the US started to backtrack rapidly when serious rivals came up against it. It could not recover after the great crisis in 2008 in one way or another. When the defense expenditures were too high, the people paid the price. We can make the following determination clearly. The US is in the process of collapse. The British Empire had collapsed before. When England collapsed, the USA replaced it. Since both were Anglo-Saxons, this transition was smooth, but now the situation is very different. Asia is rising as the US collapses. Naturally, Washington does not want to accept this situation. This is the reason for the debate whether this transition will be bloody or bloodless.
“THE WHOLE WORLD IS NOW SEEING THE REAL IMAGE OF THE US”
Prof. Dr. Hasan Köni told us how the US had gotten to this point:
“While things were going well for the US, two things changed. The first was communication. Everything is now learned very quickly. The whole world is now seeing the real image of the US. They have learned the truth and know the implications. The second is the collapse of the Soviet Union. When there was no deep-rooted power to fight against, the people turned toward the US. Meanwhile, China emerged. China does not fight directly, it produces. It has massively increased its manufacturing industry, it has connected the world to itself. The US has around 800 military bases in the world. That is big money we are talking about, even if they only spend $50 million for each, every year. The US’ armament expenditure is very high. This burden was felt more heavily when it started to backtrack economically. Finally, a coronavirus epidemic was added to this. They failed to combat the epidemic. They seemingly intentionally followed a ‘life goes on’ policy. People have grown tense.”
‘THIS STRUCTURE CANNOT BE SUSTAINED’
“The US’ image, which relies on using human rights as a means of pressure on other countries, has also deteriorated, Köni stated that the recent human rights violations and racist practices in the US have been witnessed across the entire world. “When the economy collapses, states harden. In the 1930s the German economy collapsed. Unemployment has increased. Since many university graduates could not find a job, they started to do their doctorate. Then we saw what happened, what disasters happened. We should look at what happened in America from this perspective,” Köni said.
Emphasizing that the US coerced its allies into purchasing US weapons, Köni said that “Sometimes they made this by using NATO, sometimes they made other impositions on non-NATO countries. This structure could not be sustained, cannot be sustained”.
BIDEN’S TURKEY POLICY
Köni explained his views on Biden’s Turkey policy as follows:
“Biden’s constituency is a region with a dense population of Greeks and Armenians. What they say in the election cannot be essential. In the US system, when the president changes, all bureaucrats will also change. Policy towards Turkey will be determined by them. They take a positive stance on not losing Turkey, the attitude against Turkey may change. Let us remember, it was Biden who convinced Turkey of the Syria issue, and which involved Turkey in the Syria process.”
‘THE US IS THE LOSER OF THE ELECTION’
The Coordinator of Ankara Crisis and Political Research Center (ANKASAM) Kadir Ertaç Çelik commented on the scenario after the US presidential elections:
“The loser of this election is the US. US democracy has lost; the American electoral system has been damaged. This political polarization within the US will have short- and long-term consequences for American sociology. It is obvious that these events will continue and there will be social discontent. Social polarization and segregation will increase in the country after the elections.’’
‘REFLECTIONS OF THE POWER DECREASE OF THE US’
Çelik explained the reason for the crisis experienced during the election process and followed by the whole world, saying:
“In the past, such criticism was coming from the West to Turkey during the election period. Now everyone is talking and criticizing the crisis in the American elections. If the US was in its old power, we would not discuss those phenomena. However, it is obvious that the US does not have its old strength. We can say that this is a reflection of both the economic stalemates in the country and the power decrease of the US in the global system.”
‘BIDEN’S ATTITUDE REUNITES TURKEY’
Also assessing Biden’s Turkey policies, Çelik has emphasized the following:
“Although Biden is well known for his opposition to Turkey, Turkey has the power to assure that Biden’s words and propaganda are all in vain. Both international conjuncture and the dynamics of Turkey will not allow it. In other words, Turkey mollifies Biden, i.e., Biden will not be able to materialize his threats against Turkey, and will be forced into moderation. As a matter of fact, his attitude toward Turkey will make us a closer-knit society, and enhance unifying national sentiments.”