Donald Trump has won the US presidential election for a second time and will return to the White House.

The peaceful transfer of power is the hallmark of any democracy, even though Trump himself did whatever was possible four years ago to cling to power.

The US election result represents a remarkable comeback for the 78-year-old. After the January 6 riots and his later conviction of 34 felony counts, many thought his political career was done.

Yet, the Republican candidate defeated Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, by a comfortable margin, even winning the popular vote. It seems that voters put bread-and-butter issues, like the economy, inflation and migration, ahead of any concerns they may have had about him as a candidate.

There is no doubt that his victory will present a challenge for US democracy, the rule of law and the country’s independent institutions. Only time will tell whether US institutions, courts and Congress will be able to hold Trump to account, and if he will resist the temptation of subverting them.

The Democratic Party must now reflect on the implications of this major defeat. It hobbled into the election with a new leader at the 11th hour after Joe Biden was deemed unfit and the late switch, as well as its way of anointing Harris, clearly did not impress the majority of US voters.

Harris was unable to present clear policy proposals to address major concerns of voters, such as the cost of living and rising immigration. Her party must now look long and hard and ask itself whether it is too detached from the everyday concerns of ordinary US voters.

While domestic issues won Trump the election, the major concern for the international community will be his effect on US foreign policy. Trump has refused to take a clear stand in favour of Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia. He has expressed an admiration for Vladimir Putin and he might even toy with the idea of pulling out of Nato.

Trump’s unconditional support for Israel in its war in Gaza and Lebanon is dangerous, as is his rhetoric about Iran and China. His threat to impose tariffs on the EU risks starting a trade war between Brussels and Washington, which is in nobody’s interest. Furthermore, Trump has never directly answered a question about whether he would support South Korea should it be attacked by North Korea. He has also branded the media as the “enemy of the people”.

On the other hand, we have been here before. When Trump was elected the first time in 2016, there were similar concerns about his impact on world order. Thankfully, they did not pan out.

In his victory speech on Tuesday, he vowed to “end wars, not start them”. We must now hope he lives up to that pledge.

The race to prevent a climate crisis will undoubtedly be set back by Trump’s victory. He has consistently downplayed climate science, rolling back numerous environmental protections and withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement, which hindered global efforts to curb emissions.

Certainly, the world will enter a new era of uncertainty when Trump takes office in January. A major effort must be made to maintain the transatlantic partnership, which has contributed so much to peace and stability in Europe in the post-war period. However, this election must serve as a wake-up call for Europe,, which can no longer take the US security umbrella for granted.

It is time for Europe to regroup to strengthen its defence and security capabilities, so it no longer needs to rely on the US. If there is a silver lining to Trump’s victory, it could well be that it marks the point Europe finally realises that the only way forward is to unite, to speak with one voice on the world stage and to be the voice of multilateralism, peace and global engagement.