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GeoPod's Deep Dive into US politics and China with CIS Executive Director Tom Switzer
This week on GeoPod, Tenjin Consulting's Alexander and Georgina Downer talk to the Centre for Independent Studies' Executive Director Tom Switzer about US politics and China.
Tom has been an observer of US politics and foreign policy for some 30 years so he knows his stuff.
We discuss Tom's views on the new Biden Administration's foreign policy team (pretty good) and the challenge for the US in overcoming many great obstacles: the Covid-19 pandemic which has killed 450,000 Americans, an economic crisis unparalleled since the Great Depression, racial and cultural tensions, and extreme political polarisation. Tom isn't optimistic that Biden can unite America, but Biden will be a lot more predictable than Trump. And that, in Tom's opinion, is a very good thing.
Are we experiencing the end of Pax Americana? Tom thinks its now on the "ash heap of history". China is exerting more and more influence in the Indo-Pacific region and many countries are skeptical that the US has what it takes to resume its global leadership position.
China's President Xi Jinping gave an extraordinary speech at the virtual Davos summit in late January, calling for an open world economy where "differences" should be overcome "through dialogue". Australian exporters of coal, barley, wine, beef, wood and lobsters can only wonder why this approach doesn't seem to apply to them.
On Trump's legacy, Tom observes that conservative leaders across the western world (Trump, Boris Johnson in the UK and Scott Morrison in Australia) have uniquely tapped into working class values, while shirking their usual economic conservative responsibilities. Trump's problem was that he never gave up his role as a political disruptor, and the Republicans, as a result, became a party of protest, not suited to government. Look out for another outsider to take over from Trump.
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By Tenjin ConsultingThis week on GeoPod, Tenjin Consulting's Alexander and Georgina Downer talk to the Centre for Independent Studies' Executive Director Tom Switzer about US politics and China.
Tom has been an observer of US politics and foreign policy for some 30 years so he knows his stuff.
We discuss Tom's views on the new Biden Administration's foreign policy team (pretty good) and the challenge for the US in overcoming many great obstacles: the Covid-19 pandemic which has killed 450,000 Americans, an economic crisis unparalleled since the Great Depression, racial and cultural tensions, and extreme political polarisation. Tom isn't optimistic that Biden can unite America, but Biden will be a lot more predictable than Trump. And that, in Tom's opinion, is a very good thing.
Are we experiencing the end of Pax Americana? Tom thinks its now on the "ash heap of history". China is exerting more and more influence in the Indo-Pacific region and many countries are skeptical that the US has what it takes to resume its global leadership position.
China's President Xi Jinping gave an extraordinary speech at the virtual Davos summit in late January, calling for an open world economy where "differences" should be overcome "through dialogue". Australian exporters of coal, barley, wine, beef, wood and lobsters can only wonder why this approach doesn't seem to apply to them.
On Trump's legacy, Tom observes that conservative leaders across the western world (Trump, Boris Johnson in the UK and Scott Morrison in Australia) have uniquely tapped into working class values, while shirking their usual economic conservative responsibilities. Trump's problem was that he never gave up his role as a political disruptor, and the Republicans, as a result, became a party of protest, not suited to government. Look out for another outsider to take over from Trump.