Dialogika

In this episode, we discuss the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, breaking down who the candidates are, what they stand for, and—particularly important for those of us in the international community—what their stances and statements are regarding foreign policy. We also take a closer look at how the U.S. picks its presidential candidates, trying our best to explain the convoluted primary system, as well as comparing the U.S. approach to how Indonesia picks its presidential candidate (from the parliamentary elections all the way to the general election). Even though some people might say “why do we need to care about the U.S. elections,” we think it is part of our responsibility to cut through the noise of mainstream media coverage and stay connected to what’s happening around the world—including the United States—and also be cognizant of the global implications & consequences that will come with the election of the next American president.

Thanks for listening!

UPDATE: ON may 3rd, TED CRUZ ANNOUNCED HE WAS SUSPENDING HIS CAMPAIGN, and the next day, on may 4th, JOHN KASICH ALSO ANNOUNCED HE WAS SUSPENDING HIS CAMPAIGN. so as of may 4th, the only remaining republican candidate is donald trump, while both hillary clinton and bernie sanders are still in the race for the democratic candidacy.

For those interested in learning more about the topic, we’ve provided links to resources as well as other recommended readings. 

THE FOUR FOREIGN POLICIES — Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Charles Krauthammer’s excellent assessment of each presidential candidates’ potential foreign policy stances (and from which we got a lot of material from)

IT’S THE FOREIGN POLICY, STUPID — Foreign Policy magazine’s argument on why foreign policy must be talked about more among the candidates

COMPARE THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ON FOREIGN POLICY — courtesy of the Council on Foreign Relations

THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE — explainer on the indirect-vote general election system from which the U.S. picks its president

AMERICA’S VOTING SYSTEM IS CRAZY! — CNN’s explainer on how the U.S. election cycle works

HOW THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES STACK UP FOR LGBT WOMEN — unrelated to foreign policy, but important to our topics of interest & definitely relevant

2014 INDONESIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS, A QUICK GUIDE — courtesy of the Australian Parliament

MUSIC CREDITS:

SOUL HIGH by RYAN LITTLE

MONTMARTRE by JAHZAAR

NIGHT OWL by BROKE FOR FREE