In the wake of emigrants

On Tuesday begins the celebration of it was 375 years since the ship Kalmar Key arrived in Wilmington in Delaware, with the first Swedish immigrants aboard. One million Swedes followed across the Atlantic in Kalmar key's wake.

The United States was and is a nation of immigrants. Today is the large group of Latinos are the fastest growing minority. The Hispanic roots in including Mexico and Puerto Rico today represents over 11 percent of the electorate. The South is becoming bilingual. But the group Hispanics also puts great impression in the East Coast New York and Washington, which is striking when I along with a group of political editors of the Swedish Media Lens directing visiting the United States, the political and economic center during the course of a week. (Medicare Alen is a company that manages assets earlier M-branded press organs sold. Undersigned sits on its board).

Just the ethnic change in the United States will return to virtually all meetings of think tanks, NGOs and editors. The group Hispanics are now larger than the African-American. It is young and growing rapidly. For it will Latino voters have particular importance in some vågmästarstater. For Republicans who for several years has focused the winning white (less educated) Americans in the hinterland relationship with Latino voters to have a live-or-die issue.

In the last elections frightened Hispanics of Republican tough attitude towards undocumented, a line now looks to be in reversal. Republican hope that Catholic Latinos with strong moral values ??would turn towards the east and west coasts of urban Democrats and liberal stance on value issues did not. The second-generation Hispanic Cubans in key Florida without personal experience of Castro repression is also not nearly as anti-communist as their parents' generation. The fact that over 70 percent of Latino voters in the U.S. voted for Obama should not have surprised the Republicans.

There was previously a show in the U.S. to minorities, except the Jewish, which largely vote for the Democrats, as the years tend to vote more Republican. A growing group of Asians have higher incomes than the white U.S.. Minority populations are - and should be perceived in a Swedish context - often more industrious and hard-working than majorities. But today, there must be a Republican reversal to win the trust of African Americans, Latinos and Asians.

In simplified terms, the white Protestant European culture is on the verge of losing its position as majority culture also influenced a range of policies. No political leadership is insensitive to voters roots, explains the head of one of the country known think tanks. If the proportion of European background decreases, it seems reasonable that the American commitment to economically, politically and militarily in Europe subsides.

But it is also important to create a common foreign policy stance. Group Policies aimed at autonomous groups within the same country risk creating divisions and internal conflicts and Barack Obama accused during the campaign to specifically target individual groups of voters.

In an even greater extent than the ethnic and demographic change in the United States will affect foreign relations teaches the rapid energy transition - relatively unknown on this side of the Atlantic - changing international rules. In a number of states is now clean Klondike atmosphere. Labour and international energy giants Statoil of Norway moved its focus to the U.S. in search of the black gold. The extraction of shale gas in Sweden has mainly been portrayed as an environmental problem, the phasing out of shale gas is already visible in the declining U.S. carbon emissions have not attracted the attention of many.

While talking to many analysts that the U.S. will become self-sufficient in fossil fuels. The world price of gas drops today because of the increased supply in the U.S.. In Moscow see why Putin regime of exploitation in a state like North Dakota with great concern. Kremlin's strategy of using energy as a political force goes to nothing at falling price levels, which means a reduced Russian influence in Central and Eastern Europe.

In at least equally affected the Middle East. The U.S. military presence in the region is far from being solely linked to the oil sources flows. Military backing of vulnerable Israel is a more idealistic motives, concerns about cross-border terrorism and an increasingly aggressive Iran is the second reason. USA also serves on the seven seas shipping routes as a kind public good - that is its fleets to secure shipping lanes from pirates and lawlessness.

But it is clear that the Middle East loses in strategic importance to Washington on the world's commodity map redraws and dependence on the Gulf decreases. The combination of demographic change and increased energy teaches strengthen reorientation, both militarily and politically to the Pacific and Asia.

The anniversary of Kalmar twinning Wilmington testify how strong bands of the Atlantic. A delegation from Kalmar Municipality traveling later in the spring sunshine to celebrate and bring alive the historic relations between the U.S. and Sweden. 100-year-old band is not likely to be cut by demographic changes or fluctuations in the price of oil. But perhaps it will be on Europe and Sweden to take greater responsibility for family ties when Uncle Sam is increasingly looking eastwards.