A similar change in the lineup recently occurred on the American election stage when the playing coach, so to speak, suddenly gave way to a substitute player. Meanwhile, the match did not stop for a second; the rules were not reviewed, and the opposing team began searching for new ways to score. The substitute player, who suddenly almost became the team captain, tries to gain the missing experience in the course of the game.
This is roughly how the situation on the American political election stage looks at first glance. The audience does not leave the “stadium,” wanting to watch the match until the end, even though there is still time until the finish line. Against this backdrop, Kamala Harris, who has stepped in as a substitute player, is confidently entering the game, allowing some experienced viewers to assume her appearance was pre-programmed by the team’s invisible coaching staff. Thus, the rhythm of the game has not significantly changed.
But enough with the associations. Let’s try to look at the overall picture through the prism of Kamala Harris’s rather interesting speech as the Vice President of the United States at the Munich Security Conference in February 2024. She stated that in the context of an open discussion on “America’s future as a global leader,” the administration is determined to “uphold democratic values at home and abroad, and to cooperate with our allies and partners to achieve common goals.” Although there are “dissenters in the U.S.” who advocate for “American isolationism from the world, abandoning commitments to allies, and borrowing repressive tactics from dictatorial regimes,” this approach would “weaken the U.S. and undermine global security,” for which NATO is of “crucial importance.”
Following such a meticulously crafted anti-Trump rhetoric, Harris declared the Democratic Party leaders’ responsible approach to “competition with China,” uniting the world “under U.S. leadership to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries,” and realizing “the Palestinians’ right to human dignity and self-determination,” while countering “Iran’s aggressive actions and its proxies.”
Overall, this stance has remained fundamental to Kamala Harris’s views even after she replaced Joseph Biden. In a week since her campaign headquarters began operating, she raised $200 million, with just under 70% coming from new donors. Parallel to launching her campaign, Harris also took some unexpected steps, such as opening a TikTok account, even though Joe Biden always lobbied for banning this Chinese social network. Within hours, her account gained over a million followers.
However, according to some analysts, the widely publicized data (based on some surveys) by various well-known news agencies indicating a parity of American sympathies towards Donald Trump and Kamala Harris (if not with Harris leading) are artificial.
Directly, Trump bluntly stated about Harris’s “low IQ.”
In Azerbaijan, as in all other countries, there is close attention to what is happening on the American election field. This is quite understandable, particularly given the significant activity in the context of normalizing relations in the Armenian-Azerbaijani vector. Here, it is worth noting President Ilham Aliyev’s clearly articulated position on the political nuances happening in the U.S. As the head of state noted at the 2nd Shusha Global Media Forum, Azerbaijan views the evolving situation “from its perspective,” especially since the election results will “significantly affect the fate of many peoples and countries.” Following this, Aliyev identified one of Trump’s “important theses” as the fact that “there were no wars under him,” which “is probably worth respecting him greatly.” The second relevant thesis in this direction, according to the president, is the position on traditional values. “I think,” specified Aliyev, “that the absolute majority of the Azerbaijani people not only share but actively propagate and implement this position in practice.”
Regarding Ms. Harris, she is unlikely to change Biden’s position on the South Caucasus, with known preferences and biases of the administration concerning the region. On official meetings and congratulatory messages, the White House expresses one position towards Azerbaijan and Baku’s steps in various vectors, while openly following a pro-Armenian line. It is no coincidence that at the same media forum, Ilham Aliyev expressed “deep disappointment” with the “American administration’s attitude towards Azerbaijan,” the one-sided approach, and attempts “to draw dividing lines in the Caucasus.” The head of state also touched on the issue of Armenia’s military buildup through the so-called European Peace Facility, which “is directed against us and is absolutely unacceptable.”
In the given context, Kamala Harris is unlikely to make adjustments to the Democratic Party’s policy towards the South Caucasus. For example, in 2023, she noted on her social media page regarding events in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 that “we honor the memory of 1.5 million lives taken during the Armenian genocide,” calling to “commit to fighting hatred in all its forms.” It is interesting, to say the least, where the figure of “1.5 million lives” came from in the vice president’s arsenal, and whether she is ready to provide a real historical reference for these data. Moreover, why doesn’t Ms. Harris stop ignoring the Khojaly genocide and study the tragedy of the Azerbaijani population of Karabakh to express her objective stance on the events in Azerbaijan over the past 30 years regarding the occupation policies of our geographical neighbors?
In light of this, we hope that not only Kamala Harris but the entire White House administration will heed President Ilham Aliyev’s message, emphasizing that official Baku constantly conveys to the international community the importance of respecting Azerbaijan’s interests in the South Caucasus. Ignoring them “will be a mistake, a miscalculation, and again, a disappointment.”
Teymur Atayev
Translated from minval.az
