Endy Zemenides: A paradigm shift whichever way it goes
The re-election of Donald Trump may mean the end of international order as we know it. His hostility to NATO and the European Union, and his attitudes towards free trade will make relations between the United States and Europe unpredictable.
Bilateral relations will be more transactional than strategic. Under a second Trump term, Greece would have to simultaneously: a) help the EU develop a coherent foreign policy and strategic autonomy; b) make itself even more valuable to Washington in terms of hard assets; and c) speed up the development of its Eastern Mediterranean alliances, developing a security feature to its trilateral and multilateral forums. Doing all this in four years with Turkey saber-rattling to the east is a difficult task.
A Joe Biden presidency would restore some level of normalcy and predictability. The ties between Washington, NATO and the EU would certainly warm. US diplomacy would be more forward leaning and present. But Biden will have the longest "to do" list of any incoming president in modern times, and an American public less willing to sacrifice blood or treasure than when he previously held office.
The US will not return to a hegemonic role but will play the role of a willing alliance leader, re-emphasizing human rights and cooperation on transnational issues. Greece has become a key state in both the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean, and that will mean a lot to a President Biden as he restores a very different US to a leadership role in the world.
Endy Zemenides is Executive director at the Hellenic American Leadership Council.
