As the country continues to grapple with the pandemic, propelling the population into a downward economic and public health spiral, the worst qualities of the current government – an inability to solve its problems without shooting at something – have been further laid bare. Read Here | The Diplomat
The 2020s now appear likely to unfold as a typical postwar decade, with some emerging economies falling, others rising, and a few standing out as genuine stars. A few will continue to rise to prosperity through the tried-and-true method of export manufacturing. Read Here | Foreign Affairs
Europeans have long known that the global balance of power is shifting rapidly to Asia, and America’s attention with it. With the transatlantic alliance only barely surviving Donald Trump’s presidency, this may be the last chance to repurpose it for the twenty-first century. Read Here | Project Syndicate
The prices of raw materials used to make almost everything are skyrocketing, and the upward trajectory looks set to continue as the world economy roars back to life. From steel and copper to corn and lumber, commodities started 2021 with a bang, surging to levels not seen for years. Read Here | Bloomberg
If we compare President Biden’s statecraft in his first 100 days with the nine presidents we have seen since John F. Kennedy took office in 1961, objective observers should agree that he has earned high marks. The essence of Biden’s success has been strategic clarity. Read Here | The National Interest
The Chinese government is expected to announce soon that the nation’s population has shrunk for the first time in nearly 60 years, Financial Times reported. According to the FT, the latest census numbers for the world’s most populous nation are expected to show a decline to less than 1.4 billion people, though it is unclear how much less. Read […]
Months after his run-in with Beijing authorities, one that scrapped history’s biggest initial public offering, Jack Ma’s true whereabouts have finally been verified: at the very center of Xi Jinping’s boldest effort yet to modernize China’s economy. Read Here | Asia Times
China, it is often said, has mastered the art of economic statecraft. Observers routinely worry that by throwing around its ever-growing economic weight, the country is managing to buy goodwill and influence. Read Here | Foreign Affairs
The number of infections in India surpassed 17 million in recent days, and the official death toll now exceeds 190,000. How did everything go so wrong so soon after India recovered from the first wave of the pandemic last year, resumed normal life and economic activity, and started exporting vaccines? Read Here | Project Syndicate
The competing imperatives of democracy promotion, global leadership, and “a foreign policy for the middle class” contain stark, if unrecognized, tensions. In part, those tensions stem from the limited time and attention available to the U.S. president and his senior staff… But to a greater extent, the tension comes from the limited resources and political […]
looking beyond borders 