The US presidential election is down to its post-Labor Day final countdown. Polls have the two candidates closely matched, but it is the electoral college arithmetic that really matters in this race. Which of the candidates has the best chance of getting to the required 270 votes?

Whoever is elected, there will be consequences for US foreign policy. Victory for Hillary Clinton may mean that the US takes on a more interventionist role in the world, as well as a more hawkish outlook. This would represent a departure from the cautious approach that has defined the Obama administration. If the next president is Donald Trump, the US may take on a more isolationist foreign policy position.

In either case there are likely to be repercussions for Australian foreign policy.

Tom Switzer of the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney joined Steven Warwick of the AIIA’s national office for a short interview prior to an address given to the Canberra Benjamin Franklin Club and the AIIA’s ACT Branch.

Interviewed by Steven Warwick

Filmed by Brendan Martin