After election day, incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump has been pursuing a flurry of lawsuits in an effort to overturn the results. With all major U.S. media having called the election in favor of Democrat Joe Biden, and world leaders offering their congratulations, is President Trump likely to admit defeat and concede? And what direction will the new government take on foreign policy?

"Obviously, President-elect Joe Biden has won the election," Xue Chen, a research fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies told CGTN, adding that as U.S. political traditions have been broken, so it's hard to predict what will happen before next January, especially at a time when there is a lot of uncertainties regarding U.S. domestic affairs and foreign policies.

According to American financial news website, Business Insider, Republicans have filed nearly two dozen lawsuits since the election day, but have only won one case. The New York Post recently reported that President Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, is claiming that he has evidence that could overturn election results.

Professor Robert Kelly of the Department of Political Science at Pusan National University in South Korea argued that Trump's team may not have the so-called evidence and this could just be a stunt. In addition, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated this month that the 2020 election was "the most secure in American history."

"This is the kind of thing that Trump has done for years," Professor Kelly said, adding "This whole thing may just be another Trump in reality TV shows."

Election results may not get official confirmation before January 6 – 14 days before the presidential inauguration. Professor Kelly believes that Trump will certainly not admit his loss, but he will use this for grievance in the future, saying it was a stolen election. Unless Trump can actually provide valid evidence to overturn the election results, Biden will eventually become the next president of the United States.

Professor Kelly noted that the U.S. now faces a huge COVID-19 crisis, but Trump just made it more difficult for the country to recover. Therefore, significant policy choices have to be made on the very first day of Biden's presidency.

"I think the real issue then is how much will Trump sabotage the transition," Kelly said. 

In terms of the foreign policy of the next U.S. administration, Benoit Hardy-Chartrand, Adjunct Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at Temple University, said that one of the top priorities will be returning to Asia, and Biden has repeatedly said in statements that he wants the U.S. to reinforce its commitment to allies in Asia. At the same time, Biden also intends to re-consolidate relations with the European countries.

"I do think the Biden administration will be much more committed to multilateralism," Benoit stated. "There are even some talks of trying to strengthen the Iran nuclear deal that Trump withdrew from about a year or two ago. So, we are likely to see a much more multilateral approach, greater presence in regional forums."

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