Warren G Bennis’ quote “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality” is buttressed with the recently announced results of the mid-term elections of USA.
As doubts were being raised in certain quarters since the turn of 2022 over President Joe Biden’s health or his supporting Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine War or allowing Speaker Nancy Pelosi to visit Taiwan on August 02 this year, President Biden has grown in stature and has emerged as a master strategist, as the results of the mid-term elections held in USA on November 08, 2022 were declared last weekend.
The Democratic Party’s dramatic performance in the mid-term elections ensured their hold in retaining control over the all-important Senate, thus signalling that the American voters had stamped their approval to President Biden’s domestic and international policies.
In this article we will analyse three implications the results of the US mid-term elections of 2022 will have globally.
The first major implication is that the Russia-Ukraine War will now become longer and lengthier as US will keep on continuing its support to Ukraine in all possible sense except sending its soldiers in the war zone. Ukraine having smelt victory after routing the Russians in Kherson is no mood to stop the war till it frees the area that have been annexed by Russia in the ongoing war.
The second implication is that China will feel the pinch and pressure more, a trailer of which was seen by the enacting of the Chips and Science Act in July by the US Congress this year. This Act entails giving more than US$ 50 billion in federal grants to firms building semiconductor manufacturing facilities in USA with a caveat not to upgrade any China based factories for a decade. This has effectively crushed and crumbled China’s dreams of becoming a world leader in the production of semiconductors by 2030.
Also, USA will continue its full support to Taiwan militarily thus thwarting and frustrating China’s designs to annex Taiwan. The tension across the Taiwan Straits will increase in the days ahead as Xi Jinping will be under immense pressure as the next Chinese Presidential elections slated in 2027 approach nearer.
Lastly, the mid-term election results will prove to be a boon to India as the Indo-US relations will get better and brighter, though traditionally the Democrats have not been pro-India. The Pentagon in its security report submitted on November 05, 2022 has labelled China as the leading security threat to USA.
USA is well aware that in order to check and contain China, it needs the help of India which is a reckonable force in the Indian Ocean. This is evident from the fact that President Biden incorporated India in the I2U2 Summit held in July this year and the applause that India got in the recently concluded Quad Summit in Tokyo on May 24, 2022. The fact that USA did not impose tough measures on India, except for a few statements here and there, as it continues to purchase oil from Russia and purchased the S-400 air defence system from Russia shows the clout India has today in international affairs.
John C Maxwell’s quip “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way” fits aptly and appropriately for President Joe Biden who has led the Democrats in an historic win in the mid-term election in USA. The path to the 2024 US Presidential Elections has got clearer.
About the Author
Lt Col JS Sodhi retired from the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army and is an alumnus of NDA, Khadakwasla and IIT Kanpur. He is a M.Tech in Structures has also done MBA and LLB and is a prolific writer and a public speaker. He features in the World Book of Records, London and the India Book of Records for his media work. He Tweets at @JassiSodhi24. The views expressed are personal.
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