Top International Politics Expert analyses Iowa and New Hampshire Primaries

Following the first two primaries in the build up to the US Presidential Election, International politics expert, Inderjeet Parmar – Visiting Professor at LSE IDEAS (The London School of Economics’ foreign policy think tank, and no.1 university think tank in the world) and Professor of International Politics at City, University of London – analyses the Iowa and New Hampshire results.

According to Professor Inderjeet Parmar:

“Bernie Sanders’s electoral showing in Iowa and significant success in New Hampshire indicates that a major ideological-power-shift is underway: The United States should prepare for the possibility of a socialist in the White House…an unprecedented occurrence in a nation born capitalist, dominated by a business culture, with an American Dream of the self-made man.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden’s successive defeats suggest that his moderate ‘return to normalcy’, his pre-Trump status quo message, and its messenger, is unconvincing to voters. Although he could fare better in Nevada and South Carolina, with Michael Bloomberg in the wings with a billionaire election war chest, Biden’s days may be numbered as his third attempt at the Democratic nomination receives another major setback.

Biden’s age could be playing a role in his poor performance, with Pete Buttigieg offering a fresh face of modern moderate identity.

So far, the Democratic primaries appear to be clarifying the contest with Buttigieg as the centrist-traditional vs Sanders on Progressive Left. Klobuchar has made third place in New Hampshire and may now challenge both Biden and Buttigieg for ‘moderate’ Democrats’ votes. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren seems to have lost significant momentum and ground to Sanders. This could be down to her declaration (“I am a progressive capitalist”), which suggests she’s trying to please everyone.”

Professor Parmar says that DNC and Democratic establishment is in a state of panic at Sanders’ success so far. He suggests that Sanders has benefitted significantly from the ‘socialist wave’ that has been assigned to him. According to Parmar, regardless of what happens in November, there has been a major ideological power shift in American politics and society, seen clearly in the first two primaries.

Inderjeet Parmar is a Visiting Professor at LSE IDEAS (London School of Economics’ foreign policy think tank, and no.1 university think tank in the world), Professor of International Politics at City, University of London, and visiting fellow at the Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford.



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For more information, or to speak to Professor Inderjeet Parmar, contact Jonny Stone at jonny@bluesky-pr.com or call +44 (0) 1582 790704