Listen to BBC News by Mike Wooldridge
If this is a "Mandela moment" for America, there were - perhaps inevitably - few specific clues in Barack Obama's victory speech as to how that will work its way through on to the world stage. But for those who have objected to American unilateralism during the Bush years there was the commitment to listening, the promise - in Mr Obama's words - of a new dawn of American leadership, coupled with the pledge to defeat those who "would tear this world down".
Among the reaction from Europe, President Sarkozy said the American people had chosen "change, openness and optimism". And the European Commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso, said "we need a new deal for a new world".
Iraq's foreign minister was quick to tell Mr Obama that there was "a great deal at stake" in Iraq and he did not foresee a quick US disengagement, while President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan said he hoped the election would bring peace, life and prosperity to his country.
Managing such expectations abroad, as well as at home, will clearly be one of Mr Obama's biggest challenges.
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