The Coronavirus Challenge – Experts on the Future of Globalization: Dr. Karen Donfried

In an interview with Zeit-Stiftung, GMF President Karen Donfried contemplates which global trends could emerge from the coronavirus crisis from a U.S. perspective.

The pandemic could be “the equivalent of a global earthquake that can shake up the balance of power in our global system in fundamental ways,” Donfried said. “I do believe that this pandemic is having a profound impact on how we engage locally, but also internationally,” she said.

For the United States, adding to the uncertainty of the pandemic is the presidential election in November 2020. The outcome of this election will critically depend on voters’ satisfaction with President Donald Trump’s crisis management. “If Americans feel that they have been well-served by President Trump, one would postulate that he will be re-elected for a second term,” said Donfried.

If Trump is re-elected for a second term, Donfried expects an acceleration of Trump’s "America first" policy. If the American public chose Joe Biden, the United States could return to embracing “multilateral solutions to big challenges, whether that is a pandemic or any policy area from security challenges to trade issues. That would be a very different American role in the world,” said Donfried.