Stewart Patrick, World Politics Review
President Donald Trump has been pilloried for jeopardizing thousands of American lives through his delayed domestic response to COVID-19. His failure of global leadership, however, has been equally glaring. Rather than rallying other nations in a collective effort, he has doubled down on his “America First” instincts,...
Jim Geraghty, Nat'l Review
The story of the coronavirus pandemic is still being written. But at this early date, we can see all kinds of moments where different decisions could have lessened the severity of the outbreak we are currently enduring. You have probably heard variations of, “Chinese authorities denied that the virus could be transferred from human to human until it was too late.” What you have probably not heard is how emphatically, loudly, and repeatedly the Chinese government insisted human transmission was impossible... Читать дальше...
Janine Di Giovanni, The National
Every evening at 7pm in Paris, I have an aperitif with my closest friends to raise a glass and discuss our respective days. Some fill me in on health issues, some seek company and others just want to vent.
George Friedman, Geopolitical Futures
The United States is under enormous pressure. The nature of the particular pressure is unique, though pressure on the United States from various forces is normal, as it is with other nations. What makes this pressure unique, aside from its biological origin, is that it has been so intense that virtually all systems are seeking to cope with the problem, both in defining and responding to it. This is largely true of all countries, but each responds to it differently... Читать дальше...
Gordon Chang, National Interest
The sharp downturn in U.S.-China ties, however, is the result of a militant communist regime needing a foreign enemy, and the large number of U.S. diplomatic personnel on Chinese soil could be aggravating—not helping—relations between the two states.
Robert Kaplan, Bloomberg View
Welcome to a new age of decreasing free trade and global cooperation, and rising nationalism and geopolitical rivalry.
World Politics Review
Foreign Policy
Alastair Gill, Worldcrunch
MOSCOW — After months of speculation, it appears that Vladimir Putin has finally settled on a strategy that will allow him to retain power beyond 2024. Ever since he announced plans to make a raft of amendments to the country's constitution back in mid-January, discussion had been rife over what exactly the Russian president — barred from running for a third consecutive term...
Wolfgang Münchau, Financial Times
J. Posaner & H. Cokelaere, Politico EU
The European Commission is using its own space data to tell capitals to ease up on border checks.
Judy Dempsey, Carnegie Europe
The coronavirus pandemic is exposing the West’s lack of resilience and lack of cooperation just when both are most needed.
Robert Zaretsky, WaPo
This week, Emmanuel Macron reinvented himself. In a televised address on the coronavirus epidemic, the man who began his presidency two years ago as a liberal Europeanist reappeared as a Charles de Gaulle-style nationalist. Both the future of France and future of Macron’s presidency rest on how...
Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic
Kim Eui-Young, JoongAng Daily
I am teaching my political theory course remotely this semester due to the new coronavirus outbreak. For the midterms, I told my students to submit essays discussing “the politics of Covid-19.” Using the basic concepts of politics they will learn in the first half of the course, my students will analyze the political situation surrounding the Covid-19 crisis. For reference, I uploaded about 50 news articles — including editorials and columns I found in the local and foreign press ... Читать дальше...
Huang Chung-yuan & Chin Wei-chien, Taipei Times
The second wave of COVID-19 in Taiwan is cause for increasing concern. For four consecutive days, starting on Monday, the government has announced new confirmed cases, including several members of a tour group who visited Turkey. Among 23 new cases that the Central Epidemic Command Center announced on Wednesday, four were members of that tour group. As of Thursday, only two individuals in the entire tour group have tested negative for the virus.
Donald McNeil Jr., NYT
Terrifying though the coronavirus may be, it can be turned back. China, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan have demonstrated that, with furious efforts, the contagion can be brought to heel.
Jon Alterman, The Hill
The “Arab Spring” is remembered as the most disruptive political event to shake the Middle East since the fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. Purported presidents-for-life were pushed from office, three countries descended into civil war, and the accepted balance between the governed and their governments was turned on its head, if only for a time.
Ferdinando Giugliano, Bloomberg View
