Trump or Harris? In a world in crisis, diplomats have resigned

The annual United Nations General Assembly week is always exciting.

It might be called the Super Bowl of diplomacy, but this year perhaps a more appropriate comparison is a marathon.

Not since World War II have so many global conflicts piled up, with Lebanon on the brink just as leaders arrived in New York City.

With the current unrest, the upcoming US election is on everyone’s mind here.

A senior Western diplomat told me that no one expected anything to happen in the Israel-Gaza war until a winner was declared in the race for the White House.

“We understand that the current administration is under pressure not to make any decisions that could affect the election,” he said.

“But we hope that after the election, the current administration will use the interim period to be able to make some decisions that will help improve the situation in Gaza.”

But in conversations with dozens of officials from different continents at United Nations headquarters in Manhattan, a global community weary of crisis and resigned to working with anyone who will next occupy the White House.

All remained anonymous to share their candid views.

An ambassador of a South Asian country told me: “I don’t see any difference between the two candidates, just look around the world from one end to the other, we are in complete chaos.”

It is a view that perhaps reflects disillusionment with US leadership, but also reflects the view among many in the global South that while rhetoric changes, so do foreign policies. America’s broad foreign policy really doesn’t change drastically from one administration to the next.

“It is very easy to criticize and issue warnings about what might happen,” a senior Saudi representative told me.

He said while he considered former President Donald Trump to be unpredictable compared to Vice President Kamala Harris, the idea that he would tear up multilateralism was an exaggeration because it had never happened before. This.

“What really undermines multilateralism is the actions and conflicts that are taking place in many parts of the world and you cannot blame one country or one administration,” he said.

Here at the United Nations complex, a longtime official of the organization told me there was no need to panic about the U.S. election.

“We have enough anxiety around what’s going on today to be worried about what’s going on in November,” the official said.

The source added that the UN has survived the Trump administration in a way that few could have predicted.

“The volume may be very loud, but they are not much different than past Republicans,” the official said.

If given a second term, this official told me they have a feeling that Trump would be so focused on domestic issues and “solving problems internally” that foreign policy might not be the right thing to do. was the focus from the beginning.

Speaking to the BBC, Kenyan President William Ruto seemed unfazed.

“I am very confident that the friendship between Kenya and the United States will transcend the individuals in office,” he said. “It will surpass me as president or anyone elected in America.”

For many Europeans, however, they are worried about a second Trump administration and what some see as his transactional approach to foreign relations.

One European diplomat told me that with the Security Council incapable of managing the conflict, there are fears that a bolder and potentially more radical Trump administration will contribute to the situation. dysfunction and encouraged many movements in Europe towards the far right.

“I think at least the majority of Europeans will feel relieved if Harris takes office,” he said.

However, another senior European diplomat said that while a Harris victory would give them a sense of continuity, they also now have a working relationship with Trump for four years and feel Better prepared than in 2016.

Coinciding with the high-level United Nations debate is Climate Week in New York City. Caribbean leaders not only spoke from the green and gold General Assembly Hall but also addressed rooms full of businessmen and politicians at side events to warn that the world is dangerously behind. jeopardize its climate commitments, putting its islands at risk.

One regional minister told me that climate was the main area where they were worried about the differences between the US candidates. “In terms of having a real commitment from the United States government and for the United States government to provide leadership,” the Secretary said that “definitely the Democrats.”

Many people still remember that Trump withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement, while Joe Biden later joined.

Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said political change has been a challenge to achieve for the past 26 years. He said he was calling for some kind of mechanism to protect change in political leadership from hindering or reversing progress.

Election Day on November 5 may seem distant to diplomats, who have faced more challenges than solutions in the past week.

But the time is fast approaching when votes will be counted in America and with them will come a new face in the White House.

Another European minister, arriving at an event, simply told me this: “My hope is that it doesn’t get too weird.”

Additional reporting by Cai Pigliucci.