It's been a campaign for the history books, upended by the COVID-19 pandemic and taking place in a nation on edge after a summer of civil unrest.

With the United States (US) presidential election nearing its apotheosis, predictions about what will come after are dominating discussions well beyond the US. When it comes to international relations, forecasts range from apocalyptic to cautiously optimistic. But what is needed is an actual way forward, grounded in realism.By realism, I don’t mean the “realist” approach to international relations, which emphasises the role of sovereign states as self-interested actors.

Donald Trump has frustrated and enraged China during a tumultuous first term, but Beijing may welcome his re-election as it scans the horizon for the decline of its superpower rival.Relations are as icy as at any time since formal ties were established four decades ago, with China warning it does not want to be drawn into a new "Cold War" with the United States (US).Under his 'America First' banner, Trump has portrayed China as the greatest threat to the United States and

The outcome of the United States (US) presidential election on 3 November will have momentous consequences for America in terms of economic policy, racial justice, the judiciary, health care, and the overall quality of its democracy. But the election’s international effects could be equally far-reaching and lasting.

United States (US) President Donald Trump on Sunday declared himself immune from COVID-19 as he prepares to return to the campaign trail in a fight to regain ground against surging White House rival Joe Biden."It looks like I'm immune for, I don't know, maybe a long time and maybe a short time, it could be a lifetime, nobody really knows, but I'm immune," Trump said in a Fox News interview, a day after his doctor affirmed he was no longer a transmission risk for the d

Taiwan's leader on Saturday appealed to her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to deescalate military tensions and live up to his promise to "never seek hegemony" after months of Beijing ramping up fighter jet incursions.In a speech on Taiwan's national day, President Tsai Ing-wen said the international community was becoming concerned about the "expanding hegemony" of China. Beijing views democratic, self-ruling Taiwan as its own territory and has never ren

Two United States (US) companies have applied for emergency approval for their lab-produced antibodies against COVID-19 – and President Donald Trump has signalled his strong backing based on the fact he was treated with one of them.Here's what we know about the treatments and why the perception of political interference at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may have eroded public trust.What Are They? The therapies developed by Regeneron and Eli Lilly are called "monoclo

Donald Trump's chief of staff said Friday the president was experiencing "mild symptoms" of COVID-19, after the bombshell news of his infection upended the White House race a month before the Republican faces challenger Joe Biden at the polls.The 74-year-old Trump – who has continued to cast doubt on the seriousness of the pandemic, even as the United States (US) death toll topped 200,000 – announced in an overnight tweet that he and First Lady Melania Trump, 50, had tested pos

United States (US) President Donald Trump has been the world's biggest driver of COVID-19 misinformation during the pandemic, a study from Cornell University said Thursday.A team from the Cornell Alliance for Science evaluated 38 million articles published by English-language, traditional media worldwide between 1 January and 26 May of this year.The database they used aggregates coverage from countries such as the US, Britain, India, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and other African and

Democrat Joe Biden branded election rival Donald Trump a "national embarrassment" on Wednesday for failing to explicitly denounce white supremacist groups, as the president moved to quell the storm sparked by his remarks on the debate stage.The bitter adversaries returned to the campaign trail one day after their off-the-rails showdown in Cleveland made headlines less for the substance than for its unrestrained chaos.The toxic shout fest - with Trump constantly interrupting and Bide