How the world sees Bush II

　　Russia

　　Russia, for example, must expect a U.S. administrat ion more willing to arm-wrestle and less inclined to vi ew the post-Soviet Kremlin as an ally. And the Bush adm inistration's proposal to build a comprehensive missile defense shield will place relations on a wary footing f rom the outset. But Moscow's own foreign policy demeano r has shifted toward defining its relations with Washin gton on more overtly competitive terms, and the symmetr y created by a more hardball U.S. administration may in fact underscore stability as it did during the Cold War .

　　China

　　Beijing, for its part, is not expecting a sea chang e. Where the Clinton administration harangued China per iodically about human rights, the Bush administration m ay be more likely to draw lines in the sand on issues s uch as the sale of missile technology to third countrie s. But the bottom line for both teams has been opening up China for business, and President0elect Bush was a h earty supporter of lifting the annual congressional rev iew of trade relations between the two countries. And h is administration would likely maintain a regional bala nce in pursuing separate U.S. relations with India, Pak istan, North Korea, South Korea and the Pacific Rim cou ntries, all dedicated to maintaining stability and expa nding trade.

　　Europe

　　The old Bush team was well-regarded in Europe, and although W. 's intention to hightail it out of the Balk ans as soon as possible may irk some European NATO alli es, many of those same allies took a dim view of the Cl inton administration's gung-ho interventionism over las t year's Kosovo crisis and may welcome the more cautiou s Colin Powell as a replacement for the crusading Madel eine Albright. But issues ranging from trade disputes a nd global warming to Europe's plans for its own umbrell a military force and the opposition to U.S. missile def ense plans suggest relations with Europe won't be smoot h sailing.

　　to be continued