The international community should prioritize providing direct support for anti-coup resistance efforts in Myanmar rather than zeroing in on economic sanctions that will be undermined by the country's willing economic partners, writes Van Tran.
Separately, life for the average citizen has advanced dramatically under partial democracy, explains Edmund Malesky, which is why tens of thousands are protesting the military coup out of fear of returning to the dark days of junta rule.
Following EU High Representative Josep Borrell's ill-fated trip to Moscow, Constanze Stelzenmüller urges that Europe must change its Russia policy to focus on principles and people.
After the collapse of the government in Rome, Giovanna de Maio explains how Italy arrived at this point, what comes next for the country, and what the sudden shakeup means for partners like the United States.
"The [Biden] approach to China will be back to first principles, back to familiar diplomacy, and back to processes, which will be good for the U.S.-China relationship, but it’s going to be a slow start."
Fighting COVID-19.Diana Fu contends that Xi Jinping effectively mobilized Chinese civil society to combat the virus in concert with the Chinese Communist Party, and unlike many Americans, civil society responded as a cohesive body.
U.S.-China rivalry. A forthcoming book from the Brookings Institution Press features timely analysis from leading experts on great power dynamics in Southeast Asia; David Dollar and Jonathan Stromseth, the volume's editor, join Bill Finan to discuss on an episode of the Brookings Cafeteria podcast.
International affairs
Leaving Afghanistan. The black-and-white depiction of President Biden's choices around American troops in Afghanistan is a "flawed either/or narrative" that "presents a false choice," argues Madiha Afzal.
Defense spending.Michael O'Hanlon makes the case for holding the defense budget flat in real-dollar terms, rather than making significant cuts to a defense budget that is already rather modest by historical standards.
Saudi detainees. Following the release of activist Loujain al-Hathloul, Bruce Riedel highlights the case of another Saudi: former Crown Prince Muhammed bin Nayef, who was a key U.S. counterterrorism partner in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
U.S. humility. Writing for War on the Rocks, Jeremy Shapiro posits that President Biden's use of self-deprecatory humor was possibly the most important part of his recent foreign policy speech because it showed that "humility [is] back in the Oval Office."
Thursday, February 18, 2021 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM EST
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