American general elections are followed closely across the world. Still, the Election 2016 riveted the world for a slew of reasons, not least because the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was an outlier. 

Few gave him the benefit of doubt that he would outsmart his Republican rivals, many of whom had distinguished political careers. Indeed, Trump, the real estate tycoon and reality TV star, struggled to stick to messages right through the presidential debates against Hillary Clinton.  

It is safe to say that most people outside the US (Russia was a clear exception) fervently hoped that Trump would not be elected. To them, he represented severely isolationist and xenophobic tendencies. But until Tuesday night, there was complacency since the US media and pollsters were predicting a Hillary victory, though the race was expected to be tight in the so-called Rust Belt states. 

But things started changing quickly after results started coming in on Wednesday morning, and by late morning it was clear that there was a huge upset. 

Many analysts are predicting an upheaval in world affairs once Trump ascends to the presidency, though his victory speech was much toned down and he was particularly careful to assure international stakeholders and allies that he was not going to rock the boat.

Inside the US, there are widespread fears that the blacks, Latinos, women and other minorities will fare poorly in his presidency. In peripheral countries like Nepal, however, the immediate impact is likely to be limited. Nonetheless, Trump’s victory has huge  symbolic significance for Nepal as well. Many Nepalis look up to the United States. Thousands have migrated to the Land of Opportunities—or aspire to migrate there—and thousands others are students there. There is a tendency in Nepal and elsewhere to view the US as an exceptional country: one that is particularly open to outsiders, respects the rights of minorities, has a strong and credible press, and follows democratic values and the rule of law.

It is too early to know what will happen under a Trump presidency, but judging by the tenor of his campaign, it seems likely that the value system and world view that outsiders identify with the US could be compromised in Trump’s America. 

That said, the American mainstream media, which was so certain Clinton would win, have lost much of their credibility. Venerable newspapers such as The New York Times seem to have been out of sync with their own public opinion. The white nationalist movement in the US has been exultant, and there are fears that there will be a backlash against minorities and immigrants in the days ahead. Many analysts have also warned that Trump could run roughshod over the rule of law and human rights. 

It would be deeply unfortunate if such a state of affairs would come to pass. Granted, America’s claims to exceptionalism were always overblown, and the rest of the world never quite believed the claims to greatness that the US made for itself. But the US has played a central role in stabilising the world since the end of the Second World War. Large sections of the world’s population, keen to live in open societies, thought of the US as a bulwark against intolerance and despotism. People everywhere will be watching and hoping that Trump’s victory will not mark a major rupture, making a departure from liberalism and respect for dissent.