66th Year -- No. 3626 Friday, November 6, 2020 www.mauritiustimes.com facebook.com/mauritius.times 18 Pages - ePaper MAURITIUS TIMES l "Voting is as much an emotional act as it is an intellectual one." -- Monica Crowley US Elections For the winner of the election, the moment of victory brings unbridled joy and acclamation. This isn't so for the loser What It's like to Lose a Presidential Election By Chris Lamb, Professor of Journalism, IUPUI * See Page 4 Social mobility: Boon and bane US Elections & Mauritius Vijay Makhan: “Mauritius has always entertained a policy and attitude of ‘Friends to all’” Experts have yet to agree on the exact connection between the levels of education and the degree of social mobility, but there is no doubt that education does play a significant role By Dr R Neerunjun Gopee * See Page 3 Letter from New Delhi ‘We would hope that a Biden administration would Who becomes US President? Some pay heed to the position of the international Indians care and want to know community on the Chagos issue’ By Kul Bushan * See Page 9 * See Pages 7-8-11 Mauritius Times Friday, November 6, 2020 www.mauritiustimes.com Edit Page facebook.com/mauritius.times 2 The Conversation Changing World Order US election: why democratic t the time of writing (yesterday after- otherwise. That is why any negotiations in noon) by all accounts the Democratic which we are involved must be carried out by Apresidential candidate Joe Biden was seasoned diplomats and ambassadors, and leading in the American elections that were because personal contacts are so vital in this legitimacy remains at stake held on November 3rd, the tally then being respect, there must be no reluctance on the Biden 264 as against Trump’s 214 (Total part of the authorities to have recourse to for- The political and social crisis in the US has seats 270), with counting still going on in a mer cadres if need be. The interest of the couple of States. The whole world is waiting country must be paramount. its roots in twin challenges. for the final outcome, because despite all the As far as America is concerned, there is turbulence that has been shaking it up, not likely to be any major change in policy in ven as millions of America still remains the global power num- the Indian Ocean region even if Biden votes in key battle- ber one in terms of its economy, and what- becomes President. This is the view of Vijay Egrounds were being ever happens there impacts the whole world Makhan, former Commissioner of African counted, Donald Trump whether we like it or not. Union, and Secretary for Foreign Affairs, incorrectly declared victory in As a country we do not have any great Mauritius, in his interview to this paper today. the US presidential race. The penetration in the US trade-wise, barring the As he opines, ‘…the USA objectives will US will sit in limbo until the African Growth and Opportunity Act, meant continue to be dominated by its security con- results from swing states are for Africa essentially, but which allowed us to cerns and naturally it will continue to in. The Trump campaign has make an inroad into the American market. strengthen its position within the regions… committed to pushing this Still, we have to be concerned because the Besides, let me just reiterate that when it political battle into the courts Indian Ocean is fast becoming the pivotal comes to foreign policy objectives and US should he lose, and the centre of global geopolitics, and this has security considerations, these are esta- Biden campaign has pro- been triggered in recent times by the out- blished by the two major departments which mised to meet the challenge. reach strategy of China which extends to our are the State Department, that is foreign Throughout the 2020 region as well. affairs, and the Pentagon, that is defence. campaign, polls suggested Thus, China has a military base in Obviously, any American administration that whatever the outcome, Djibouti, ostensibly to better monitor and con- will follow keenly the India-China glaring significant parts of the US The US is facing a crisis of democratic legitimacy. Photo - Clemens Bilan/EPA trol piracy in the region which threatens the ongoing competition in the region, and would see their new leader transport of its oil supplies. But other powers Washington will continue to scrutinise, as illegitimate. Regardless of Schumer reportedly threatened that view this as part of its larger strategy of glo- analyse and assess the aspirations of both whether Trump or Joe Biden is ulti- nothing was off the table if the bal dominance, in line with its activities in the these countries and determine its policy mately inaugurated as their 46th pre- Democrats take the senate. South China Sea and the Malacca Strait, accordingly. I do not see a Biden administra- sident, millions of Americans will see which are considered to imperil the free tion changing the status quo except in its the outcome as “the end of demo- Trump himself has also made movement of international maritime traffic in approach’. cracy”. lasting changes to the institutions of those parts. Neighbouring countries resent Further on, he points out that ‘Mauritius government. His catalogue of sins is this perceived threat of China, but this is also The apocalyptic tenor of the elec- has always entertained a policy and attitude lengthy and well-rehearsed, and his true for the US, India, Australia and Japan. tion reflects deeper, foundational chal- of “Friends to all”. I hardly see any reason for disregard for the rule of law has been They have allied to form the QUAD, to coun- lenges to the legitimacy of American us to depart from that stance. On the con- patent. As worrisome as the violations ter the growing military push and clout of democracy of which Trump is a symp- trary, we will have to be very careful and themselves is the precedent that his China in the Indian Ocean region. tom more than a cause. maintain that approach. We should always behaviour sets for the standards of As far as we are concerned, the Chagos be conscious of the fact that we are a small This crisis finds its roots in twin presidential probity. challenges. The first stems from accu- issue is still not completely resolved despite nation, highly dependent on the outside A further threat to legitimacy mulated procedural violations in all the ruling of the International Court of Justice world for our economic progress and deve- comes not from the federal govern- branches and levels of government. in our favour, and now there is the problem of lopment. ment or Trump himself, but from long- tuna fishing which brings in the UK in the The second is grounded in the type of It would hardly serve us to choose one standing and intensifying attempts to Indian Ocean region through its association authority that Trump commands. camp or another. We have no alternative derail citizens’ ability to participate in with the Maldives. than to continue to pursue a more or less Flouting norms the democratic process. Observers Though we are a small island state, our have detailed the modes, extent, and neutral path, that is, from the geo-strategic The procedural challenges to de- location in the Indian Ocean nevertheless history of voter suppression in the point of view. It is our permanent interests mocratic legitimacy include norms places us at practically the centre of this that will have to prime at all times.’ 2020 election cycle. These include power game going on, and we must craft our being flouted by both parties in This is all the more important as we have convoluted registration laws that dis- foreign policy in such a way as to leverage it Congress, the norms of public beha- no control over the future that is unfolding, advantage specific (mostly Democrat- to our advantage, which means at all times viour destroyed by the Trump presi- but must be vigilant and prepare to actively leaning) groups, intimidation or dis- defending and securing our interests. We dency, and most recently, the electoral adapt to the shifting circumstances if we are couragement at the polls, and the dis- have always adopted the line of being friend- upheaval exacerbated by COVID-19. to survive in this increasingly difficult interna- qualification of cast ballots. ly to all, and we must make sure that the The Republican Party’s recent tional order. Voters in Atlanta, Georgia in powers that be understand that it cannot be insistence on a rapid confirmation precincts with largely African process for conservative supreme American populations encountered court nominee Amy Coney Barrett Mauritius Times waiting times of up to 12 hours during especially after its refusal to do the Founder/Editor: Beekrumsing Ramlallah - Aug 1954-Sept 2000 early voting. same for Democratic nominee Merrick Editor-in-chief: M. Ramlallah / Senior Editor: Dr RN Gopee Garland in 2016, has made Barrett’s This epaper has been produced with the assistance of confirmation deeply divisive. Nadia Hilliard Doojesh Ramlallah, Sultana Kurmally and Kersley Ramsamy Democrats do not have a clean track Lecturer in US Politics, UCL Pearl House 4th Floor Room 406 - Sir Virgil Naz Street, Port Louis -- Tel: 5-29 29301 Tel/Fax: 212 1313 record in this arena, either: most recently, senate majority leader Chuck [email protected] www.mauritiustimes.com facebook.com/mauritius.times * Cont. on page 12 Op-Ed Mauritius Times Friday, November 6, 2020 3 Social mobility: Boon and bane Social mobility can be both a boon and a bane.