The US presidential elections last month revealed the overarching global influence of US political developments, as leaders and people of other countries presented similar levels of interest as that of the US public. Before the elections, populist and nationalist leaders in several countries rallied for the incumbent president Donald Trump, while progressive leaders supported his opponent Joe Biden. This global engagement strongly confirms the notion that US domestic politics have an overstated impact on global developments.

It is impossible to deny that the US is the single most influential country in the world. Over the past century, several social and political developments that began in the US spread to other countries and had a profound global impact. Recently, the Black Lives Matter movement, meant to highlight and oppose violence and discrimination against people of African ancestry, also led to the emergence of similar movements against racism and police brutality affecting minorities in other countries, most notably in UK, France, and Brazil. Constitutional and legal thought in many later republics were heavily influenced by the US constitution, and many American political ideals such as the principle of checks and balances were implemented in several other countries. The global influence of the US is especially prominent in academia, as a majority of the world’s most distinguished universities and academics are based there. Similarly, American movies and TV shows enjoy extensive worldwide viewership and following.

This pervasive global influence also brings about significant detriments. For instance, it has led to the spread of some biases and divisions that were once unique to the US. The prime example of such bias is racial categorization, as terms and divisions associated with racial categories in the US are now almost commonplace worldwide, and issues that never had a racial element have now become more complex. Movies and TV shows are the principal source of this spread, as they have long been known to perpetuate racist stereotypes, such as portraying Asians as bookish and African Americans as violent or dangerous. Similarly, creationism, anti-vaccination, and flat-earth movements were once limited to the US, but thanks to its global influence, they now have a worldwide presence.

Having primacy in global politics also means that unpleasant political developments in the US, such as the rise of anti-scientific and strongly nationalist politicians, will catalyze the emergence of such movements in other parts of the world. For instance, populist and isolationist movements in Europe saw significant rise in support after the 2016 US presidential elections. A major reason for this development was the support provided to them by the new US administration, through social media and by the administration’s designation of nationalist and isolationist personalities as diplomats and government officials. Similarly, during the current pandemic, the oblivious attitude of the US government also made its way into the governments of other countries and caused a large number of deaths. These facts strongly suggest that many societies and governments are hyper-focused on American domestic politics, to an extent that their own functioning and well-being is compromised.

When the US pulled out of the Paris climate accord, there was a significant rise in support of those who deny climate change and oppose taking measures to alleviate its effects. This is despite the fact that the vast majority of the signatories of the accords have kept their word, and that although the US is a major contributor to greenhouse gases, the US alone can neither prevent nor cause climate change. Had our political environment been less centered on the policies of the US government, this major blow to the environmentalist movement could have been avoided.

Currently, as nationalist and populist leaders rise to power in many parts of the world, there is an increasing need to counter the dominance of one or few countries when it comes to influencing global developments. Although there is an increasingly large number of world leaders who subscribe to nationalism and populism, they are still yet in a minority, globally speaking. We can counter their influence by focusing less on the domestic politics of one or a few countries, and emphasizing more the need to find common ground and an inclusive outlook towards global issues. This is the only way to protect against the unwanted consequences of such primacy, especially in a world where the most pressing issues, such as the ongoing pandemic, climate change, and nuclear proliferation, require a collective solution.