Garčević Discusses U.S. Election, NATO With PGC
Amb. Vesko Garčević, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and former Ambassador of Montenegro to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), held a discussion with the Pardee Graduate Council (PGC) on November 10, 2016 on NATO, the European Union and the United States presidential election.
Amb. Garčević discussed the accession of Montenegro to NATO, and how the outcome of the U.S. presidential election could potentially affect Montenegro’s NATO membership.
“My country is almost there,” Garčević said. “We will become a NATO member next year. I don’t believe the result of the presidential election here in the U.S. will change that, but the decision is currently pending in the Senate because they put it on hold until the election took place.”
Comparing Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election to the outcome of the Brexit referendum, Amb. Garčević said he believes the surprising result of both campaigns were caused by voters who were unwilling to disclose their affiliation to pollsters and forecasters because of the unpopularity of their respective positions.
“I see many parallels between these two decisions. If one considers Brexit a wake up call, I don’t what to say about the presidential election in the United States,” Garčević said “It’s not about whether Republicans or Democrats will come into office, it’s about process. Shy voters were behind Brexit and behind many Tory victories in U.K. elections — shy voters I would say were behind Trump’s victory here because the polls didn’t reflect these people who deep down were sympathetic to his ideas but because of his unpopularity were not willing to publicly display their affiliation.”
Prior to joining the Pardee School faculty, Amb. Garčević’s served as National Coordinator for NATO in Montenegro, where he managed inter-agency coordination and NATO public campaign promoting Montenegro’s membership to the organization. You can read more about him here.