Generational divide in the United States By Shahid Javed Burki

There is now a serious and noticeable generational divide in the United States which would have consequences for the country’s relations with distant nations such as Pakistan. Those forty years and older look at the globe very differently from the way the youth view the world. This divide is not new but this time around it has penetrated deeper into the American society than was the case when the youth campaigned against their country’s involvement in the war in Vietnam. The youth, after having contributed to Washington bringing peace to the Vietnam peninsula, went on to fight wars on the domestic front. The issues they got involved in were mostly in the area of civil rights. They were active in advancing the rights of women and citizens of colour in the country.

The youth currently are more open to seeing the colour of their country change as the white population has fewer children per family while those of colour have higher birth rates. The youth are also receptive to admitting more migrants from Latin America, Asia and Africa. The deep divide in American politics is the result of the growing conflict between Democrats and Republicans, with the former having members that are younger than the latter. The Republican Party is wedded to the concept defined by former president Donald Trump as “Make America Great Again” or MAGA. It is strongly committed to keeping America white.

Trump promised his ardent supporters that he would build a wall all along America’s border with Mexico and prevent people of Islamic faith from entering the country. Soon after taking office, he issued an executive order banning the entry into the United States of people from several Muslim-majority countries. The ban was removed by the country’s courts as unconstitutional. Trump’s immigration policy was designed by Steven Miller, a young man who is both xenophobic and Islamophobic. He is behind the formulation of the action plan that will be implemented if Trump wins another term in the elections to be held in November 2024. At this time, he is polling better than President Joe Biden who will attempt to win another term in the elections to be held next year.

America’s transforming education system — in particular at the higher levels — is impacting on the way country’s policymakers are viewing the world. Universities and public policy think tanks are attracting significant number of young people from the developing world. Recently released data on the presence of foreign students in the United States shows how large is the number of Chinese and Indians who are attending American universities.

College educated youths have greater contacts with foreigners than those who are older. They come into contact with foreign students most of whom are people of colour. A report, “Open Doors”, released on November 13 by the United States State Department and the Institute of International Education found 1,057,188 foreign students in the American education system during the 2002-23 school year. This was up nearly 12 per cent from the previous year. India is fast catching up with China, which has a total of 289,526 students attending universities. According to the report the total from India reached 268,923, up 35 per cent or 25.4 per cent of the total. Not since the late 1970s has the total grown that much in one year. These students bring global perspective to campuses. This is a subject. I will take up in this space next week in an analysis of student activism in favour of Palestinians as the war between Israel and Gaza continues to take a heavy Palestinian toll.

“The U.S. maintains a strong relationship with India on education, which I think is getting even stronger and even more connected between our governments and between the university sector and other stake holders,” said Marianne Craven, of the State Department. The above quoted report shows that South Asian students are gravitating in large numbers to Texas, New York, California, Massachusetts and Illinois. They favour institutions that teach and do research in disciplines such as public policy, economics, finance and technology. The new discipline of artificial intelligence is attracting students and graduates from Asia. Many of those who identify themselves as Asian-Americans were, in fact, born in the United States. Their parents or grandparents migrated to the United States a decade or so ago and took up jobs in the modern sectors of the American economy.

While India’s South Asian neighbours are also showing large gains in the number of students attending American universities, Pakistan is doing less well. Nepal had more than 15,000 students at US institutions, and Bangladesh more than 13,500. Both totals were up 28 per cent. On the other hand, Pakistan had 10,100 students, up 16 per cent but less than other South Asian nations. According to Nick Anderson, writing for The Washington Post, foreign students “bring crucial revenue to colleges and universities, often paying full tuition or close to it. The federal government estimates that they pump nearly $38 billion a year into the economy. They also provide enduring evidence of the global prestige of U.S. institutions devoted to teaching and research. Countries with scarce or restively modest higher-education capacity often find that middle class and affluent families want their children to study abroad. And the United States has long been a preeminent destination for higher education.” According to Allan E Goodman, chief executive of the Institute of International Education, “Made in USA is something that these students and families want on their diplomas.”

With a large number of Indians attending US institutions, the country’s presence in the economic and political systems has increased significantly. There are two persons of Indian origin who have made it to the final five in the contest for the Republican ticket for the 2024 elections. If Trump gets disqualified by the courts as a number of cases that have been filed against him make progress, there is a distinct possibility that Niki Haley, a woman of Indian origin, may get the Republican ticket. If she does, she will be a hard candidate for Biden, the current president, to beat. That would be another feather in the Indian American cap. The World Bank’s new president is a Sikh who made a name for himself when he managed the Master Charge company in the United States. The World Bank’s chief economist also of Indian origin. The chief executives of two of the largest technology companies are also of Indian origin.

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