Shaping the post-COVID world this week: Vaccine nationalism, zombie companies, and international bubbles – Atlantic Council

The future is here: A guide to the post-COVID world 09/04/2020

Welcome to your new guide to where the world is headed during the pandemic era and beyond. Each week, well bring you the latest and most significant expert insights and international news about how coronavirus is reshaping international affairs. To stay updated each week,sign up to the Coronavirus Alert here.

Lets take a spin around the globe, in seven minutes or less.

Bubbles. Pods. Quaranteams. Whatever you call them, many of ushave begunto expand our in-real-life social circles from our households to our (carefully selected) friends,family, classmates, and coworkers. Its no different for countries. Sure, just as the social networks we had pre-pandemic stillexist, so too do all the traditional, formal alliances. But as countries, like people, cautiously venture back out into the world, they arealsoconnectingon a more ad-hoc basis with neighbors and like-minded partners toconstructnoveltravelzonesorcollaborateoneconomic-revitalization efforts.

Bubbles, though, have a tendency toburst.Itsstill unclear which ones will prove fleetingandwhich willendure.

During anAtlantic Councilgatheringof officialsfromleading democraciesthis summer, for example,the Canadian diplomat Martin Loken notedthat new groups such as theD-10the Group of Seven countries, Australia, South Korea,and the European Unioncanhelpbuild a stronger, more effective rules-based system to deal with the next pandemic and other coming challenges.Just thispastweek,US Deputy Secretary of State StephenBiegunsaidthat weeklyconference callsbetween him and his counterparts inIndia, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Vietnam, and New Zealand,to coordinateresponsesto the COVID crisis,presented anatural grouping for broader collaboration in the Indo-Pacific region.

Andthese new groupings arent just bubbling up at the national level.Inarecent interviewwith the Atlantic Councils Foresight, Strategy, and Risks initiative, where he is a nonresident senior fellow, Greg Lindsaywondered what other new zones of influence beyond those between states will emerge as a result of the pandemic.

Networks of cities [are] forming and cooperating, andpowerful individuals andorganizationsareoffering policy advice and resourcestogovernments,noted Lindsay,the director of applied research atNewCitiesand a partner atFutureMap.Citing the Canadian governmentsdeal with Amazonto distribute medical equipment, he observes thatwe are seeing national supply chains that are increasingly becoming orthogonal when it comes to nation states.

The bottom line:In this more fluid era, the United States and its allies will have new opportunities to work together and increase their influence in the world. One major challenge, however, is that the United States is still struggling to contain the virus while many of its partners have for now made more progress in doing so.

Insights from across the planet, in ten bullets or fewer

Insights from the Atlantic Council

Wed, Aug 26, 2020

Successive years of stagnant defense spending levels and the prospect of lasting economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic could threaten to leave the United States handicapped in its growing military competition with rising powers China and Russia

Elections 2020byDavid A. Wemer

Fri, Aug 21, 2020

The European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve responded to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic with a similar prescription to the one they used during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), but this time they multiplied the dose.

New AtlanticistbyAndrzej Rzoca and Grzegorz Parosa

Thu, Aug 20, 2020

While China is currently providing its neighbors with critical economic lifelines, many in the Asia-Pacific are still looking for alternatives. Chinas continued economic power means that any decoupling will carry a cost, as Taiwan is beginning to experience in the Huawei dispute.

New AtlanticistbyJeremy Mark

Fri, Aug 21, 2020

One of his chief foreign policy advisers said that a future Biden White House would focus its foreign policy on revitalizing the United States at home, rehabilitating frayed alliances, and building a team of democracies to solve the worlds biggest challenges.

Elections 2020byDavid A. Wemer

Observations from our community

We want to learn from you.What are you noticing in your area of expertise or corner of the world about where the post-COVID international system is headed?

Email[emailprotected]with your thoughts about how the coronavirus crisis is playing out in your world, and you may be featured in an upcoming edition.

The rest is here:
Shaping the post-COVID world this week: Vaccine nationalism, zombie companies, and international bubbles - Atlantic Council

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