Rivolte americane. Un Paese in conflitto.

The myriad social protests in hundreds of US cities and towns following the death of George Floyd have laid bare a number of significant societal fault lines. The racial question - whereby racial minorities, and especially the black community, are subjected to systemic abuse by law enforcement agencies - is central, yet it should not be seen in isolation. Racial divisions reflect socioeconomic disparities, as African Americans and Latinos make up the bulk of the social strata most afflicted by poverty, privation and underpaid jobs that offer few or no social protections (most notably healthcare). The racial, social and economic imbalances fuel massive polarisation of the political debate, which under Trump has become especially bitter and confrontational. Domestic polarisation is an important reason behind the ever ampler oscillations US foreign policy has undergone since the end of the Cold War. With Trump, the pendulum has swung towards an aggressively nationalist agenda in favour of pursuing global supremacy at the expense of the US capacity of exerting leadership through the organisation of an international consensus around a shared set of interests, if not values. These are just some of the points discussed in a webinar on the US protests and their international implications organised by IAI. Speakers included Rachel Donadio, contributor to The Atlantic and former Rome correspondent for The New York Times; Prof. Mario Del Pero from SciencesPo; and Dr Riccardo Alcaro, IAI's Research Coordinator and Head of the Global Actors Programme.