Content

The future is here

May 8, 2020

US jobless rate worst since Great Depression, UN head decries “tsunami of hate”

By Atlantic Council

The United States lost more than 20 million jobs in a single month, taking the jobless rate to the highest since the Great Depression. Celebrations to mark the end of World War II were canceled or at best muted, while the head of the United Nations (UN) flagged up “a tsunami of hate and xenophobia” fueled by the coronavirus outbreak.

Coronavirus

EconoGraphics

May 8, 2020

US States’ Covid-19 Response – Short-Term Pain = Long-Term Gain?

By Ole Moehr | Graphics by Nikolai Albishausen and William Bonney

This edition of the EconoGraphic compares Covid-19’s impact with previous economic shocks, presents data on how public health restrictions influenced economic recoveries during the Spanish Flu, and contrasts US states’ reopening decisions with unemployment trends across the country.

Economy & Business Future of Work

New Atlanticist

May 8, 2020

V-E Day at 75: What it brought and what’s next

By Daniel Fried

From V-E Day seventy-five years ago, the United States put a new kind of grand strategy into practice: we understood that, ultimately, our interests advanced with our democratic values, and that our prosperity depended on the prosperity of other nations. We fashioned a global system on that basis. For all its shortcomings, it’s better than the competition. The trick now is to use those core principles to meet the next seventy-five years.

Politics & Diplomacy United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

May 8, 2020

A war will not beat coronavirus

By Harlan Ullman

What are the strategy and plans today for dealing with the coronavirus? And what lessons has the United States drawn from other countries that appear to have been successful in stemming the disease?

Coronavirus United States and Canada

UkraineAlert

May 7, 2020

US accuses Russia of “falsifying WWII history”

By Peter Dickinson

A strongly-worded new US joint statement issued together with foreign ministers from across Central and Eastern Europe takes aim at Russian attempts to rewrite history and sanitize the Soviet role in WWII.

Central Europe Disinformation

New Atlanticist

May 7, 2020

Nicaragua’s response to COVID-19 endangers not only its own people, but also its neighbors

By Maria Fernanda Perez Arguello and Isabel Kennon

Nicaragua’s reckless response to COVID-19 puts an already fragile Central America at risk and should worry the international community. In the fight against this global pandemic, Nicaragua and Costa Rica provide a clear example of how one country’s flawed response to the virus can drastically impact its neighboring countries

Coronavirus Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

May 7, 2020

Putin has hijacked WWII to justify Russian aggression

By Solomiia Bobrovska

Under Vladimir Putin, Russia's annual Victory Day holiday has morphed from a solemn WWII memorial honoring Soviet losses into a grandiose nationalistic celebration of Russia's return to the world stage.

Nationalism Russia

New Atlanticist

May 7, 2020

After months of gridlock, Iraq gets a new government

By Atlantic Council

Iraq’s months-long quest to form a national government reached a major milestone on May 6 when a partial government under new prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi was approved by lawmakers. Al-Kadhimi—who previously served as Iraq’s national intelligence chief—was nominated by Iraqi President Barham Salih on April 9 after two previous nominees failed to form a government. Although fifteen of the major cabinet posts were approved by the parliament, several others have not yet been confirmed—including foreign affairs, justice, oil, agriculture, and trade—due to failure to reach an agreement between major parties on their allocation.

Democratic Transitions Iraq

New Atlanticist

May 7, 2020

Achieving supply chain independence in a post-COVID economy

By Michael Greenwald

The United States can no longer remain content with the notion of a Chinese economic threat arising in the distant future. The advent of COVID-19 has made it more apparent than any other time including the US-China trade War that now is the moment for the United States, European Union, and other like-minded countries to diversify supply chains away from China.

China Coronavirus

The future is here

May 7, 2020

Pace of US job cuts eases, Moderna gets go-ahead for coronavirus vaccine trial

By Atlantic Council

US unemployment claims came in at the lowest level since coronavirus was declared a pandemic. Moderna got approval for the next phase in a vaccine trial. Russia overtook France and Germany as cases increased, while the United Nations appealed for billions more to help vulnerable nations cope with the disease and its impact.

Coronavirus