ISLAMABAD: American scholar Dr Kenneth Holland on Thursday observed that the United States is undergoing a significant political realignment that could reshape its domestic and foreign policy priorities, although strategic competition with China will remain a bipartisan concern.
He was speaking at an interactive discussion hosted by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).
The session brought together experts from defence, security, academia and policy circles to examine evolving US foreign policy and its implications for Pakistan.
Dr Holland described recent electoral developments as a political earthquake, attributing Republican setbacks largely to economic pressures, including rising consumer prices, inflation and interest rates.
He argued that President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies, particularly tariffs, had increased costs for American consumers, undermining the economic expectations that affected his electoral victory.
Tracing America’s political evolution, Dr Holland drew parallels between Franklin D. Roosevelt’s reshaping of the Democratic Party through the New Deal in the 1930s and Donald Trump’s transformation of the Republican Party since 2016.
He argued that Trump’s embrace of economic nationalism, protectionism and an increasingly centralised exercise of executive authority marked a significant departure from the free-market principles, limited-government philosophy and internationalist outlook associated with the Republican Party under Ronald Reagan.
Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2026
