Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election in November 2016 came as a bolt from the blue for America's partners and allies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia; Trump's win will impact global trends in 2017, the Valdai Discussion Club's experts told RIA Novosti.
According to the experts, the first most visible trend is the emergence of conservative forces during the ongoing change in the US' and EU's political landscape. Their major opponents — the neo-liberal elites — are losing their influence steadily. Oleg Barabanov, Head of the Department of EU Politics at the European Studies Institute at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) believes that Trump's election might create a powerful domino effect in Europe resulting in the victory of right-wing political parties.
According to Barabanov, France's 2017 presidential election may radically change the policy of the EU if Republican nominee Francois Fillon or the National Front's leader Marine Le Pen comes out on top. In the event of the Right's win the Franco-German alliance led by Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande could be significantly weakened. "France will be ready to take on the role of a critic of Germany's policy in the EU," Barabanov suggested adding that it may also influence the upcoming elections in Germany, reducing the chance of Merkel's CDU (Christian Democratic Union) party to win.
For his part, Fyodor Lukyanov, Academic director of the Valdai Discussion Club, suggested that the political establishment of Germany, France and the Netherlands would regroup and adapt itself to the ongoing change to preserve power.
"Its goal is to hijack the rebellion and meet the public's request," Lukyanov told RIA Novosti. The experts underscored that Brexit will further deepen the rift within the European Union. The refugee crisis, Britain's withdrawal from the bloc and economic stagnation will continue to shatter the pillars of the EU's unity in 2017.
The second trend is the potential shift in the US' Middle Eastern foreign policy. According to Dmitry Suslov, Senior lecturer at the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs of the National Research University Higher School of Economics (NRU-HSE), it is likely that the Trump administration will end the US' policy of regime change in Syria and other countries and focus on the fight against terrorism.
"Here Russian and American approaches will completely overlap, making the [potential] cooperation more fruitful; however, Trump's tough approach toward radical Islamism will aggravate US-Saudi tensions, and it is still not clear what the US administration's reaction to this development will be," Suslov emphasized. Still, Lukyanov assumes that the US' potential foreign policy shift won't bring an end to the Syrian turmoil.
Although Washington and its allies failed to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian conflict is far from being resolved, the expert pointed out. According to Lukyanov, one may expect closer coordination between Moscow and Washington in Syria in fighting terrorists on the ground. However, the distrust between the Pentagon and the Russian military shouldn't be underestimated, the expert warned.
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