Global issues take front and center as the presidential election nears
A day after the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the start of its war in Gaza, the Western Washington University community gathered to discuss the United States’ role in the world Tuesday, Oct. 8, just weeks before the 2024 presidential election.
Global issues can seem far away to people living on the West Coast, but U.S. foreign policy can affect lives here on a profound level, said Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and Ross Distinguished Visiting Professor at the College of Business and Economics at Western.
“The war in Ukraine and even more so the conflict in Israel and Palestine has thrust foreign policy back in the limelight,” said Kate Destler, associate professor of political science at Western and director of the Ralph Munro Institute for Civic Education. “Underlying these high-profile conflicts are critical questions about the role that the United States should play in the world.”
Western students have a high track record in voting in presidential elections, Destler said. In 2020, around 83% of students registered to vote cast their ballots in the general election.
“Western has historically attracted students with a deep commitment to making the world a better place,” Destler said. “This is what drives its high voter turnout numbers and strong record of participation in programs like the Peace Corps.”
Destler said she has noticed some signs of frustration and disengagement with the voting process among Generation Z — or at least their disillusionment with the leading candidates — including Republican former President Donald Trump and Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris.
War in Gaza takes center stage
The stakes in the upcoming election are high, Destler said. Americans — including many Western students voting for the first time — will vote for Trump, an isolationist who will take unilateral action in the world, or Harris, an internationalist who will stay involved with organizations in the global arena. Or else voters will opt for a third-party candidate.
“War in the Middle East has exacerbated tensions within the Democratic party,” Destler said. “Will students’ anger at the Biden-Harris administration’s support of Israel depress voter turnout, or will students unwilling to support Harris nonetheless vote and support third-party candidates? It is hard to predict.”
Trump has always been pro-Israel, said Yuliya Tverdova, senior instructor of political science at Western. If Trump becomes president, he will pursue peace in the Middle East.
The United States will continue to have a pro-Israel position no matter who is president, Tverdova said. President Joe Biden conveyed his commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel and its right to exist one year after the Hamas terrorist attacks.
The current model in the Middle East is not working well in the United States, which leaves Harris in an uncomfortable position, Alden said. While Harris supports Israel, she is also willing to discuss social justice issues about Palestine with young voters, Tverdova said.
The role of student engagement
Western students set up a tent encampment in solidarity with Palestine back in May. Approximately 60 students — led by the Jewish Voice for Peace and the Arab Student Association — called for the university to divest from all companies and institutions involved with Israeli national security.
Western students attending the U.S. foreign policy panel wondered if a pro-Palestinian surge among progressive Democrats will have an impact on 2028 and beyond.
Palestine is unlikely to be a major factor in the 2024 election, but this issue will have an effect over time, Alden said.
“Student engagement can change the conversation,” he said. “The anti-apartheid movement on college campuses in the 1980s created change in South Africa. [Protesting college students] can put some pressure on policy makers to look at a situation in a new light.”
Climate change talks muted among presidential candidates
The United States has missed the boat with climate change, evident by its response to the recent 2024 hurricanes Helene and Milton, Alden said. Both Trump and Harris have not addressed climate change well during their campaigns.
During the presidential debate in September, only Harris addressed the impact of climate change in another year of record-breaking heat, extreme rainfall and raging wildfires across the country.
“The former president had said that climate change is a hoax, and what we know is that it is very real,” Harris said.
During his tenure as the 45th U.S. president, Trump pulled out of the Paris accords — an international agreement intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, said Kendra Dupuy, assistant professor of political science at Western. Trump said he would withdraw the United States from the Paris climate treaty again if elected.
Meanwhile, the Harris administration would tackle more green energy initiatives and develop more solar technologies, she said.
Cooperation is key in tackling global issues
The U.S. foreign policy panel highlighted a lot of challenges that the United States faces regardless of the election outcome, said Christopher Rosenquist, a junior political science and sociology major at Western.
“The reality is that there are a lot of difficult crises around the world, like the situation in Israel and Palestine, as well as climate change,” he said.
Professors and experts on the panel discussed the importance of multilateralism — an alliance of many countries pursuing a common goal — in global affairs. Ryan Larsen, executive director of the Institute for Global Engagement at WWU, said that solutions for climate justice need to be a global effort like the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re going to have to find a way to work together,” Rosenquist said.
An upcoming panel on Protecting Our Planet: Election Stakes in Washington and Beyond will take place Tuesday, Oct. 22, from 4–5:30 p.m. at Miller Hall 138. The panel is free, and open to students, faculty and staff at Western, and to the Bellingham/Whatcom County community.
— By Catherine Skrzypinski