April 8, 2020
COVID-19: The World Braces for Impact; Energy and Political Power; Trump's Take on the Middle East; Tumultuous Terrain; Africa on the Edge; and The Right to Vote
"[ The coming week would be] the hardest and saddest of most Americans’ lives, [likening the projected loss of life to] our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment.”
-- Surgeon General Jerome Adams, in a statement on Sunday, April 5, about the COVID-19 death toll.

" I hope in the years to come, everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge."
-- Queen Elizabeth II, in a rare televised address to the British public on Sunday, April 5.
COVID-19: The World Braces for Impact
“ The Pandemic Will Accelerate History Rather Than Reshape It” Richard Haass -- Foreign Affairs, April 7, 2020 
 
“ Will COVID-19 Remake the World?” Dani Rodrik -- Project Syndicate, April 6, 2020 

“ The Politics of the U.S. Response to COVID-19" Qamar-ul Huda -- Center for Global Policy, April 8, 2020 

“ Pentagon Knew of Possible Coronavirus Threat for Years” Jason Slotkin -- National Public Radio, April 5, 2020 

“ Pandemic in the Pacific” Alex Oliver; Jonathan Pryke; Shane McLeod -- Lowy Institute, April 3, 2020

“ Do Authoritarian or Democratic Countries Handle Pandemics Better?” Rachel Kleinfeld -- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, March 31, 2020  

" Will COVID-19 Have a Lasting Impact on the Environment" Martha Henriques -- BBC Future, March 27, 2020
Energy and Political Power
“ Energy Markets After COVID-19” Brenda Shaffer -- Foundation for Defense of Democracies, April 7, 2020 

“ How Will the Saudi-Russia Oil War End?” Hunter DeRensis -- The National Interest, April 6, 2020 

“ Mexican President Calls on Russia, Saudi Arabia to End Oil Price War” Adriana Barrera and Stefanie Eschenbacher -- Reuters, April 4, 2020 

“ Trump Threatens OPEC, Russia With Tariffs” Kelsey Tamborrino -- Politico, April 6, 2020 
Trump's Take on the Middle East
“ The Big Think: RIP the Carter Doctrine 1980-2019" Hal Brands; Steven Cook; Kenneth Pollack -- Foreign Policy, December 13, 2019 

“ The 9/11 Era Is Over” Ben Rhodes -- The Atlantic, April 6, 2020 

“ The Middle East Strategic Alliance: An Upward Struggle” Luke Coffey and James Phillips -- The Heritage Foundation, April 7, 2020  
Tumultuous Terrain
“ How the Row Over Coronabonds Is Tearing Europe Apart” Jana Puglierin; Arturo Varvelli; Jonathan Hackenbroich; Tara Varma -- European Council on Foreign Relations, April 8, 2020 

“ An Eroding European Union” Heather Conley -- Center for Strategic and International Studies, April 6, 2020  
 
“ What’s Next: ‘Italexit’ or a European Union Crack-Up?” Francesco Giubilei -- The American Conservative, April 7, 2020 

“ Creeping Authoritarianism Has Finally Prevailed” Anne Applebaum -- The Atlantic, April 3, 2020 
 
Africa on the Edge
“ Impacts of COVID-19 on African Economies and Elections Updates” Christina Golubski and Anna Schaeffer -- Brookings, April 4, 2020 

" The Coronavirus Could Heal Libya” Edward Joseph and Wolfgang Pusztai -- Foreign Policy, April 7, 2020  

“ Medical Colonialism in Africa Is Not New” Karsten Noko -- Al Jazeera, April 8, 2020  

“ Racism Row as French Doctors Suggest Virus Vaccine Test in Africa” Rebecca Rosman -- Al Jazeera, April 4, 2020 

“ When Biodiversity Fails, Human Health Is on the Line” Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Ernest Bai Koroma -- African Arguments, April 6, 2020 
The Right to Vote