"Speakers discuss recent foreign and domestic policy developments in Russia, including the proposed changes to Russia’s constitution, oil tensions with Saudi Arabia, and the Russian response to COVID-19..." Listen to the full event here: Full Event
"The fog of rumors about Kim Jong Un’s health will clear up soon. But as of now, despite persistent rumors that the North Korean leader is seriously ill or even dead, the only two things we know with certainty are that Kim uncharacteristically missed the Day of the Sun public anniversary celebrations commemorating his grandfather Kim Il Sung’s birthday, and that his private train has been observed at the station in Wonsan, a fact the South Korean government cites to bolster [...]
"Factor all that in and China’s defence budget may in fact have reached around 87% of America’s, suggests Frederico Bartels of the Heritage Foundation, a think-tank. Raw spending disguises technological advances, too. 'China appears to be driving the military-technical competition in critical areas such as quantum science, biotechnology, hypersonics, and ballistic and cruise missiles,' warns Robert Work, a former deputy secretary of defence in America..." Read the full article here: Full Article
"Every student of national security law knows about Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (the Steel Seizure Case), in which the Supreme Court invalidated President Truman’s seizure of steel mills to forestall a nationwide strike during the Korean War. Less well appreciated is that industrial confiscation was a familiar practice for Americans in 1952. Although the Roosevelt administration disfavored that policy tool, the U.S. government seized companies during labor disputes more than four dozen times during World War II—usually firms [...]
“Meghan O'Sullivan, the head of the geopolitics programme at Harvard's Kennedy School, says the shale revolution had bolstered the US internationally by, 'altering the global strategic environment in a way that made it more conducive to US interests.' "'The global energy abundance that was in large part due to American shale... helped US allies and, on the whole, tended to harm its adversaries, from Iran to Russia to Venezuela,' she adds..." Read the full article here: Full Article
"The Israeli coalition government agreed to by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leader of a shrunken Blue and White party, Benny Gantz, will make its first priority addressing the health and economic challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak. In fact, for the first six months, at least according to its own declarations, it will deal with fallout from the pandemic almost exclusively, as an emergency government. "But one unrelated issue is carved out for potential consideration during this period: Israel’s unilateral [...]
"Europeans have been watching America’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic with alarm. Last week’s news that the United States plans to freeze funding for the World Health Organization was seen as yet another piece of evidence that the United States is shedding its traditional, global leadership role. In over one hundred interviews, emails, and texts with policymakers, analysts, and colleagues across the European continent, we have found universal shock and disappointment over both America’s failure to lead in this crisis and [...]
"Coming out of this pandemic, the U.S. will be judged by two primary factors: First, how well did we handle the pandemic domestically, both in terms of public health outcomes and the economic impact? Secondly, what role did the U.S. play on the global stage orchestrating the international response to the pandemic? "If you look at the U.S. role historically, you can see that previous administrations stepped up to deal with the AIDS epidemic and led the international community in addressing [...]
"'The bigger question among Democrats that we haven’t sorted out... is to determine exactly what to do with the defense budget,' with different camps advocating freezing, reducing, or imposing drastic cuts, said Julianne Smith, a foreign-policy adviser to former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, at the same event. "'That’s a debate that the party’s going to have to have, and frankly all Americans need to have,' Smith added..." Read the full article here: Full Article
"The coronavirus will likewise severely damage the economy. Daniel Russel, a former US diplomat who served as the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs until 2017, told The Nation that while pandemics have a devastating initial effect on public health, a brutal second wave can come in the form of an economic downturn—particularly in developing countries like Iran. "'I ran the Asia Bureau in the State Department, and I was constantly reminding people that no matter how [...]