Election chaos and norm-breaking thump democracy.

The world watched with a mixture of apprehension, dismay and fear on Wednesday as the United States struggled to extricate itself from a divisive presidential election and appeared to face a protracted legal battle. President Trump’s premature claim of victory and false allegations of voter fraud drew expressions of shock over the state of U.S. democracy, along with disparagement from U.S. adversaries. Here are the latest developments: International election observers found the vote was “competitive and well-managed” but also “tarnished by legal uncertainty,” in an initial assessment released Wednesday. They condemned Trump’s claims of voter fraud, calling them “baseless allegations.” Europeans expressed fear the situation in the United States could deteriorate rapidly. Whatever the outcome, analysts say, Trump’s strong performance indicates Trumpism is here to stay. Asian markets rose Thursday, with Tokyo’s Nikkei index up more than 1 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gaining almost 3 percent. What the U.S. election means for countries around the globe Trump’s victory claims and fraud complaints draw concern European media outlets questioned whether the United States was on the brink of collapse. China ridiculed the U.S. election as that of a “developing nation’s.” Germany’s defense minister warned of an “explosive situation,” even a “constitutional crisis.” A leading Brazilian newspaper prophesied that “more rounds of attacks on the foundations of democracy are guaranteed.” The headlines abroad aren’t expected to quiet anytime soon. After Trump falsely declared victory before the votes were counted on election night, he spent much of Wednesday leveling allegations of electoral fraud without evidence. His campaign has since announced legal challenges to determine which votes will count. Days of court battles and political uncertainty lie ahead. Many fear violence. “It highlights this fissure in America, and it troubles the parts of the world that would like to see American democracy succeed,” said Thomas Carothers, a senior official at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “The image of American democracy has taken a series of body blows in the last few years, and this election probably only increases them.” Despite the uncertainty, Asian markets rose Thursday, with Tokyo’s Nikkei up more than 1 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gaining almost 3 percent by early afternoon local time. That followed a good day on Wall Street. Some analysts said the gridlock on taxes and regulation in Washington that would come with a President Biden and a Republican Senate was actually buttressing stocks. “Equity markets have now decided they like the prospect of a ‘do nothing’ President,” Ray Attrill, head of FX Strategy at National Australia Bank, told Reuters. Countries that have long struggled with democracy have begun to see their own political woes reflected in the United States. “In Africa, that’s nothing new,” said Oliver Dickson, a radio broadcaster in Johannesburg. “Election rigging — essentially what Trump is doing — is a long-standing practice over here. When a democracy is being hijacked, only its institutions can rescue it.” The democratic process in the United States has never been flawless; it has long been marred by problems with campaign finance, gerrymandering and toxic polarization. But never has an incumbent president been perceived as so pointedly trying to undermine the process itself. In rhetoric and action, President Trump has sought to erode people’s faith in the integrity of the results. “It’s breaking apart the image of America,” said Robin Niblett, the director of Chatham House in London. “It’s puncturing that vision.” The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe assailed Trump on Wednesday for his claims of electoral fraud and his calls to halt the vote in areas where it appeared to be turning against him. Challenging times for democratic values worldwide “Nobody — no politician, no elected official, nobody — should limit the people’s right to vote,” said Michael Georg Link, a senior official with the organization. “Baseless allegations of systematic deficiencies, notably by the incumbent president, including on election night, harm public trust in democratic institutions.” The tumult in the United States is unfolding as democratic values around the globe are fraying. The Pew Research Center this year found mixed opinions about democratic ideals across 34 countries surveyed. Far fewer people in India and Israel said they believed freedom of speech was important than five years earlier. Freedom House reported in March that democracy has been in decline for 14 years in a row. Not only have authoritarian regimes in countries such as China and Russia become more entrenched, the Washington think tank found, but “establishment democracies” have backslid. The trend has accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic as leaders have seized wartime powers and delayed elections. “If the foundations of our democracy are threatened, it will have a detrimental effect for struggling democracies in other parts of the world,” said Sarah Repucci, the author of the Freedom House report. “People who are fighting for democracy in their own countries look to what’s happening in the United States, and it influences their sense of what’s possible. What happens here has an enormous influence on the fate of democracy abroad.” In Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro won the 2018 presidential election after mimicking many of Trump’s campaign tactics, political analysts said the U.S. election will likely convince strongman leaders that nationalist populism has enduring appeal and democratic norms can be swept aside without political cost. Trump administration has record of criticizing foreign governments that declare victory in disputed votes A Biden win could still be a 'success for Trump’ “Irrespective of who wins this thing, these results suggest that leaders worldwide who take their cues from Trump, including Bolsonaro, are now emboldened,” said Matias Spektor, a political scientist at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo. “That the U.S. electorate has not given Trump a major rebut suggest the market for everything he embodies is alive and kicking.” Gérard Araud, the former French ambassador to the United States, tweeted that Biden would probably prevail, “but paradoxically, I can’t help to consider this election as a success for Trump. After so many scandals and polemics, after the COVID disaster, after the George Floyd death and its aftermath, and with major media against him, it’s not so bad.” Stephen Bartholomeusz, a business columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald, wrote that Trump “is likely to remain a significant and destabilizing force in U.S. politics regardless of whether he continues to live in the White House, or is ejected.” In Europe, there was pervasive fear that the situation in the United States could deteriorate rapidly. “America looks into the abyss,” Spain’s El País said in a headline. Trump’s behavior was “common in authoritarian regimes,” France’s Le Monde editorialized.