The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. Wednesday, November 20, 2024—During a recent UWI Vice-Chancellor’s Forum held in collaboration with the Department of Political Science, The UWI St. Augustine, experts highlighted the significant impact of ethnicity, race, class, and gender on the historic 2024 US elections.
"However, it's still early days, and as Donald Trump assumes the presidency, much analysis remains to be done," stated Dr Indira Rampersad, Head of the Department of Political Science at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, who served as the chair and moderator for the virtual event held on November 14.
A multi-disciplinary panel of experts included Professor Hamid Ghany, Honorary Professor, Constitutional Affairs and Parliamentary Studies, SALISES, The UWI, St. Augustine; Professor Sheron Fraser-Burgess, Lecturer, Social Foundations/Multicultural Education, Ball State University; Professor Christopher A.D. Charles, Professor, Political and Social Psychology, Department of Government, The UWI, Mona; Dr Kristina Hinds, Head, Department of Government, Sociology, Social Work and Psychology, The UWI, Cave Hill and Professor Canute Thompson, Professor, Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership; Pro Vice-Chancellor, Board for Undergraduate Studies, The UWI. They engaged an attentive online audience in a discussion titled "2024 U.S. Elections: Results, Reactions, and Repercussions."
Professor Hamid Ghany, Honorary Professor, Constitutional Affairs and Parliamentary Studies at The UWI's Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), St Augustine Campus, reviewed voter percentages along the lines of gender, class and religious value systems. He warned against a broad labelling approach — "This was a change election…" he said "…we need to understand some of the details of how persons made shifts in their voting between 2020 and 2024. I don't think we can just simply throw a label on it and say it was racist or misogynist voting." Professor Ghany zoned in on the concept of the 'browning' of America, highlighting the growing conservative lean of Hispanic voters and flagging the need for further research.
Adding to the analysis, Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership Professor and The UWI's Pro Vice-Chancellor, Board of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Canute Thompson, explored deeper sociopolitical themes, proposing that 'white supremacy and patriarchy' are central to explaining Trump's win. "At the heart of the Trump story is a narrative about whiteness – and is it is neither innocuous nor inconsequential that he [Trump] so frequently elevates 'whiteness' as a desirable quality and feature of the American story and identity." Professor Thompson questioned whether Trump's far-right vision is sustainable for all groups. Fellow panellist Professor Sheron Fraser-Burgess supported his assertions. A Lecturer in Social Foundations/Multicultural Education at Ball State University, she dubbed Trump's re-election a 'crisis of the dismantling of the democratic ethic.'
Election forecaster Professor Christopher A.D. Charles, Professor of Political and Social Psychology at The UWI, Mona, in his analysis, questioned why the democrats' framing' of Donald Trump as a racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, authoritarian felon who threatens American democracy failed to resonate. He questioned whether reflective of their core cultural identities and values, voters prioritised issues of transgenderism and homosexuality, immigration and the economy, abortion and reproductive rights, freedom of speech and genocide in Gaza above the character issues raised about Trump.
Commenting on the implications of Donald Trump's re-election for the Caribbean, Dr Kristina Hinds, Head of the Department of Government, Sociology, Social Work and Psychology, at The UWI, Cave Hill Campus, expects continuity in US foreign policy toward the region. She does foresee some implications for undocumented immigrants, of whom Caribbean citizens represent 4%.
Questions from the online audience expounded on the issues of race, gender, and divisiveness among Democrats. The panel unanimously concluded that the Democratic party should reassess and recalibrate.
Notably, Professor Thompson called on intellectuals globally to be more assertive in defence of democracy. He anticipates the Trump presidency's continued attempts to "trample on the sovereign, intellectual rights of scholars to collect and interpret data and share their views."
Dr. Rampersad’s concluding remarks focused on the repercussions of the elections for the region asserting that generally, U.S. foreign policy to Latin America and the Caribbean has been neglected in the post-Cold War era since there is no longer a threat of the spread of Communism. However, she noted that a right-wing Trump administration would hardly embrace the leftist regimes of Cuba and Venezuela and that in his previous term as President, Trump had overturned the gains of the Obama administration with regard to US.-Cuba relations. Dr. Rampersad also insisted that the Trump administration needs to pay close attention to the escalating crime in the region – including the Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago in order to address the issues of the transnational drugs and arms trade. Moreover, she noted that there can be implications for the Dragon Gas field deal between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela since Trump has never been amenable to the left-wing Maduro regime.
The forum was part of a series of public discussions hosted by UWI Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles since 2016. These discussions aim to bring together regional academics and experts to provide informed analysis, context, and perspectives on important political, social, and economic developments both regionally and internationally. This edition was a joint initiative with the Department of Political Science at The UWI, St. Augustine Campus.
