The larger question is that can the sea of protests strengthened by the Federal Court be read a backlash against the conservative skill set of the present American administration
President Donald Trump will be known for his bravado and bluster come what may as subtleties elude him. He has emerged not only as an American phenomenon, but as a global phenomenon which militates against the traditional and conventional understanding of governance and foreign policy decision making in the larger sense of the term.
President Trump faces an uphill task since the convergence of women interests and an American Federal Court’s ruling against his executive order to curtail the entry of denizens from States such as libya, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Somalia and a few other nations.
These drastic methods reflecting his campaign trail promises of sequestrating the rights usurped by vested interests threaten to attach a pariah status to the new President. As if the Democrat lobbies, along with the Clinton establishment, were not enough obstructions to the governance of President Trump, according to a headline in a British daily, the Independent, women hate Trump so much that they are marching against him not only around Capitol Hill, but also in the Antarctica.
Moves are also on to bring back Barack Obama to the forefront as a returning President, which is definitely unconstitutional. Though the polls during the campaign trail declared earlier on that single women with children were supporting candidate Hillary Clinton, the outcome of the US Presidential elections pinpointed otherwise as the nation elected Trump over the politically correct and a pro-establishment Clinton.
Thus, both the sides of the coin need to be perceived clearly if a true reading of the political tumult in the United States has to be reached. It has been globally reported that thousands of women “marched on” on the day of the presidential inauguration in over 60 countries with the larger objective to protest in the favour of, “Women Rights, Human Rights and against hate”.
As an extraordinary instance of protest, 30 women have marched in the Paradise Bay located in Antarctica which is populated by Wendell Seals, hunchback whales and gentoo penguins.
They raised slogans such as, “Penguins for Peace, Seals for Science, Cormorants for Climate and love from Seven Continents.”
What might be the consequence of these initial moves and bills which have been tabled by the Republican GovernmentIJ In the economic sphere, Trump went against the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) which was originally meant to counter the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.
And the latter is considered to be a group of nations which is meant to serve the interests of a pro-Beijing lobby. This is one reading of the situation. The TPP led by Washington could have worked as a counter weight to RCEP, but that does not stand any more as a proposal.
The American withdrawal places stress on nations such as India, in the larger Asiatic space wherein, the nations which are being encircled by China will be facing a regional power vacuum in the absence of the United States, as it intends to leave behind allies in South East Asia and new strategic partners such as India.
Also, President Trump has projected himself as a personage who has rebelled against the politically correct graft institutionalised in the United States of America.
Immigration curbs have become the centre of the storm with the Trump declaration on the refugee policy too coming up for global criticism. The curb on the H1B visas comprises the entry of one of the largest number of Indians from 2013 onwards which led to the trying development that the Indian software giants might face difficulties in the future.
Still, Google and Facebook groups, along with other corporate houses, can find a way out of the executive order passed by the Trump Administration. With Indians being employed in the firm, Microsoft has applied with the American establishment to let in some of its “responsible and sincere workers” despite recently introduced immigration curbs.
Trump’s executive order also includes some exemptions for the companies to request and create a legitimate way out for looking out for case specific treatment, while bringing workforce from other countries. Indian firms have to take the route followed by Microsoft, as, they too are set to lose a lot by the January executive order which places curbs on the H1B and l-1 visas, which are primarily work visas and non-immigrant ones, over the top of that.
This abrupt H1B visa curb policy reflects homeland security related protectionism which does not present an easy picture for the software firms in India trading in the United States.
Coming back to the trap of the sea of protests against Trump, it is rather surprising that the same people who voted for him are rallying around a reason for opposing the same person. Apart from the individual issues, which have been opposed by the domestic protesters in United States, the question that deserves a learned answer is that why is the new, “America First Approach” invented and propagated by Trump is being opposed so largely and stringently by a large section of the people in America. The thinning out of the Trump wave might have one probable answer but that seems highly improbable as a larger popular and political game-plan by the opposition interests might be the force behind the sea of protests being registered against the Trump Administration. Marisa Franco, as reported in the New Yorker, was the brains behind organising the initial protests against Trump.
She is reported to have said, “Inauguration Day marks the beginning of the nightmare for millions of people across the country. For many of us, we simply cannot afford to hold onto a hollow hope that Trump will change course on the disasters he pledged in his campaign. We understand that we have to use everything in our power to resist and force a detour from taking us all backwards.”
The coming months will test the veracity of the claims and the counter claims as even Iran which was promised sanctions free life has declared that the “Evil State’s” wrestlers will not be allowed entry to participate in a Global Wrestling competition to be organised in Iran. The future of the Iran-US and the West-brokered nuclear deal also rests in uncertainty with the Iranian act of testing a ballistic missile is being read by the American Administration as an act of abrogating the nuclear deal with the West and the United Nations, which was brokered by ex-President Barrack Obama.
The protests which have been a kind of gathering storm in various places in the United States have precedents too. Though not on such a large scale, but such gatherings were organised as a prelude to the Presidential years of President Nixon and President George Bush. The larger question is that can the sea of protests strengthened by the Federal Court be read a backlash against the conservative skill set of the present American administration.
(The writer is Faculty, International Relations, IIPA)