Resilience & Society

WHO plans guidelines update on steroid hopes; shadow remains on jobs

By Atlantic Council

CORONAVIRUS ALERT 06/17/2020 The Atlantic Council’s Coronavirus Alert is a regular summary of policy, economic, and business events around the emergency. To stay updated, sign up to the Coronavirus Alert here. In top stories today: The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to update its treatment guidelines after a common steroid was hailed as a potential breakthrough treatment […]

Disproving the discourse of danger: Kazakhstan at thirty

By Stephen Blank

Central Asian independence in the 1990s spawned enormous anxiety among observers who foresaw cascading threats of Islamic terrorism, internecine war, ethnic conflicts within or between these states, or violence between Russian settlers and their new governments. Thirty years on, Kazakhstan has steered past many of these potential flashpoints and avoided the "discourse of danger."

AI, an accelerator of change?

By Julian Mueller-Kaler

Two digital roundtables with India brought together high-level experts to discuss the challenges, opportunities, and geopolitics of emerging technologies in the South Asian country. While the first focused on AI and health, the second centered on Sino-Indian relations.

European Leadership and the Corona Crisis: Geopolitical Effects on Northern Europe

On June 15, 2020, the Atlantic Council Northern Europe Office in cooperation with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Nordic Office, organized a seminar on the topic of ”European Leadership and the Corona Crisis: Geopolitical Effects on Northern Europe”. The public seminar was attended by experts from all around Europe, representing parliaments, governmental institutions, political parties, think-tanks and […]

Beijing steps up measures to contain coronavirus outbreak; UK jobs hit

By Atlantic Council

Beijing stepped up measures to control a coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese capital, with financial hub Shanghai calling for quarantine of some travelers from the city. The coronavirus crisis took its toll on UK jobs, although economists said the full effect is some months off.

How the coronavirus has deepened the US-China ideological rift

By Chang-Ching Tu

Coronavirus has accelerated changing perceptions in Washington and Beijing and deepened the ideological confrontation between the two different political systems symbolizing "democracy" and "centralization."

The storm still comes: Invest now, while we still can

By Kathy Baughman McLeod

While we don’t know the nature of the next crisis we’ll face, we know it’s inevitable—much like climate change, a crisis whose own potential devastation is virtually incalculable, and against whose ominous backdrop future public health crises will unquestionably unfold. Among its many lessons, COVID-19 has taught us that in preparation for an uncertain future, we must devise ways to create a healthier, more inclusive and resilient future for all.

Beijing, US states face fresh cases; Europe borders open, vacations in balance

By Atlantic Council

Beijing is contending with a fresh outbreak of coronavirus in the Chinese capital, while states from Texas to Florida saw a record number of cases and hospital admissions. Borders reopened in Europe although quarantine restrictions remain in place, leaving a question mark hanging over vacation plans.

The COVID-19 pandemic will expedite long-standing transformations in supply chains and entertainment digitalization

By Ridhika Batra

Traditional industry was under heavy pressure to improve productivity through digitalization long before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the longevity of corporates in retail, travel, financial services, and real estate is in severe question, as disruptions by the COVID-19 pandemic have wreaked havoc on productivity. After COVID-19, remodeling business operations and digitalization will be necessary for survival.

The perils of transatlantic decoupling and how to stop it

By Frederick Kempe

It’s time to take urgent measures to head off the danger of “transatlantic decoupling,” a strategic shift that would put at risk more than seven decades of gains in democracy, open markets and individual rights. Two world wars have taught us where transatlantic neglect can lead, while the history of the past 75 years underscores the value of common cause. We forget those lessons at our peril.