Coronavirus

Joseph Nye writes that as President Joe Biden meets with fellow leaders at COP26, many are asking just how badly U.S. soft power was damaged by Donald Trump's presidency. True, Trump trashed democratic norms that must be restored, but American culture retains great sources of resilience which pessimists often underestimated.

The U.S. government has rejected the chance to study this year’s insurrection. They’ll soon regret the decision.

This week in Say More, PS talks with Joseph S. Nye, Jr., a professor at Harvard University.

Despite the far-reaching effects of the current pandemic,  the essential nature of world politics will not be transformed. The territorial state will remain the basic building-block of international affairs, nationalism will remain a powerful political force, and the major powers will continue to compete for influence in myriad ways. Global institutions, transnational networks, and assorted non-state actors will still play important roles, of course, but the present crisis will not produce a dramatic and enduring increase in global governance or significantly higher levels of international cooperation. In short, the post-COVID-19 world will be less open, less free, less prosperous, and more competitive than the world many people expected to emerge only a few years ago.

Mr. Trump takes risks for the perfect photograph. He's not alone in that. Hundreds have died seeking the perfect selfie. But the moral calculus is entirely different. Mr. Trump isn't bearing the risk. Mr. Trump's photo ops are dangerous for everyone else - those standing next to him, sitting in front of a church, working at their jobs, or lying in their beds - three feet or three thousand miles away. 

Former Foreign Minister Yoon Young-Kwan and Joseph Nye, professor emeritus at Harvard Kennedy School, discuss COVID-19 challenges at a forum hosted by the Korean Foundation and Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center and broadcast live on YouTube on Wednesday.

The coronavirus pandemic is laying bare a growing competition between democratic and authoritarian governments. As the U.S. and Europe struggle to contain the virus at home, Russia and China are seizing the moment to enhance their international influence through information operations. Moscow and Beijing have long aimed to weaken the United States, blunt the appeal of democratic institutions, and sow divisions across the West. Their goals in this crisis are no different.

Among the many things affected by COVID-19 is the electoral process. As Americans debate the wisdom of continuing primary contests for the Democratic presidential nominee, European leaders are struggling with scheduled local, regional, parliamentary, and presidential elections. Thus far, most countries have erred on the side of caution.

The coronavirus outbreak illustrates the limits of globalization and how much people still rely on their central governments in times of crisis, Stephen Walt writes.