Donald Trump’s election as the President of the United States has caught much of the world by surprise, and Albanians are no exception.
Ahead of the elections, like many others in the United States and around the world, many Albanians saw Trump’s chances to become the next U.S. head of state as remote.
Many saw Hillary Clinton’s more predictable policies and the Clinton family positive history with Albanians in the region as a plus, and thus naturally leaned toward her as the optimal choice.
Yet, the American people have chosen, and Donald Trump will be the country’s new leader.
There have been fears in Tirana that because of the vocal international stance of Prime Minister Edi Rama against Trump, the relations between the two countries will be affected. More broadly, Trump’s comments on U.S. commitments in NATO, have also caused some concern in Albania and beyond.
There have been fears in Prishtina that Trump’s warmer inclination toward Russia will somehow reverse the strong U.S. backing for Kosovo’s place in the world as an independent state.
These fears are unlikely to become reality — at least not in the direct sense of the United States suddenly turning a cold shoulder on Albanians in the region.
What could happen, and what President-elect Trump’s voters do want to happen, is a more inward-looking America, and that will affect Albanians just as much as everyone else around the world who sees America’s influence as a positive force around the globe.
There are many questions as to how the Trump Presidency will affect the United States, and hundreds of views. But one thing is certain for all those who have had a chance to see how the United States works: It is a country based on solid institutions, of checks and balances between those who exercise power and of strong rule of law. That will not change.
As such, the very positive relations between the United States and Albania are unlikely to see any immediate change, but should a Trump Presidency hold to some of the campaign rhetoric and make major shifts in U.S. foreign policy, there will be larger international trends that might indeed in the long run affect the region and the continent.
Many experts seeing a Europe in crisis were hoping for a return to a greater American focus to the region as threats to democracy and security continue to loom, the election results in the United States mean that is even less likely to happen than before.
The European Union’s efforts to integrate the Western Balkans into the bloc as soon as possible should continue with this added geopolitical reason on top of many others.
Beyond the Atlantic, regardless who sits in the White House, America will remain the “shining city upon the hill,” a place of inspiration for people around the world, including Albania. And relations between the two countries, which now go far beyond the politics of the hour and today’s leaders, will continue to be strong. Of that, we can be certain.
