Eugene Rumer et al, Carnegie
Over the past two weeks, contacts between Presidents Trump and Putin have accelerated dramatically. Putin is trying to make common cause with the United States to deal with a deadly enemy, but is such a reset possible?
Doug Bandow, National Interest
Bobi Wine & Greg Mills, African Arguments
Coronavirus has laid bare the failures of aid. Instead of it being wasted or used to prop up big men, it must now serve the people’s interests.
Mukhisa Kituyi, The East African
The rapid spread of Covid-19 has upended life in all parts of the world in ways never witnessed this past century.
Rebecca Davis, Daily Maverick
Protests and looting have broken out all over South Africa in recent days in response to one issue: hunger. It is now clear that hunger will pose the greatest threat to South African well-being and security during the lockdown – and the difficulties involved with getting food to millions of South Africans in need are tremendous.
Simon Marks, Politico
Beijing has spent billions to win friends and influence politics in Africa. But the virus is threatening to upend years of careful work.
Neil Irwin, New York Times
Experts suggest there will be “a rethink of how much any country wants to be reliant on any other country.”
David Hutt, Foreign Policy
Vietnam’s repressive politics have opened up to handle the crisis. Will it last?
Thomas Graham, Yale Global
The COVID-19 pandemic slowed global economic activity and oil demand. In early March, the Saudis tried to convince other oil producers to cut production, OPEC members and non-members alike. After Russia refused to go along, Saudi Arabia opened production, pressuring producers worldwide. The US president “initially greeted the price collapse as a ‘big tax cut,’ but by the end of March he changed his tune under pressure from the domestic oil sector,” explains Thomas Graham... Читать дальше...
Paul Goble, Jamestown
These developments, Moscow’s Novaya Gazeta suggests, are part of what people in the Balkans are now calling “the diplomacy of protective masks.” So far, Moscow has gained the upper hand because Brussels has receded and Beijing has not built on its initial moves. But the Chinese move and its positive reception in Belgrade shows that geopolitics in the Balkans is no longer just between Russia and the West. Now, competition in the region is a triangle involving Russia, China and the West... Читать дальше...
Charles Yu, The Atlantic
What the coronavirus outbreak reveals is not the unreality of our present moment, but the illusions it shatters.
Victor Cha, Foreign Affairs
The United States May Be Left With Only the Most Invasive of Them
Andreas Kluth, Bloomberg View
Picture the opposite of the U.S. under Donald Trump during the Covid-19 outbreak. That’s Germany under Angela Merkel.
Victor David Hanson, National Review
Timelines grow shorter. The virus and the draconian reaction to it are wearing down a quarantined America.
Elisabeth Braw, FP
Beijing could use the coronavirus-induced economic crisis to go on a buying spree. The U.S. and European governments must restrict the purchasing of distressed companies in sensitive sectors.