Diplomacy and International Politics

The UK's vaccination program is a rare pandemic success story for Boris Johnson. It's a different story on the other side of the Channel, where Europe is still struggling to get rollout programs off the ground.

The Coronavirus and its variants know no borders. Despite falling numbers in Germany, the virus continues to have a firm grip on Europe. The reason? Vaccine procurement is worse in Europe than anywhere else in the world. Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook discusses the current state of the pandemic in the EU. [partially translated from German; interview in German]

Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook spoke to German national radio on President Trump's COVID diagnosis and how it will affect the next few weeks of the campaign.

It was the first TV duel between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Many topics were up for debate, but there were fewer concrete discussions because the US president barely allowed his political opponent to speak. When Joe Biden commented on his content, Trump confronted Biden with his family history.

The US has many problems, including Donald Trump, says political scientist Cathryn Clüver-Ashbrook. If Joe Biden wins the election, he'll have to fix a lot first.

The US is facing a presidential election, the outcome of which will not necessarily be accepted by the current president. The corona pandemic is hitting the USA as hard as few other countries worldwide, also because of government decisions. Racism is more pronounced than it used to be, and environmental and climate protection provisions are being withdrawn.

Even before the outbreak of the pandemic, the transatlantic community faced enormous domestic and geopolitical challenges. The pandemic reinforces these tendencies and at the same time makes it clear why cooperation will remain essential in the future.

Ever since the World Health Organization declared Europe the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic on March 13, China has seized the opportunity to provide relief to some of the worst-hit European countries as part of a concerted PR offensive aiming at polishing up the Communist Party’s image internationally and — above all — domestically. Although China’s aid offers have generally been welcomed by those leaders struggling to contain the outbreak, it is still far too early to conclude that Beijing is actually winning over any European hearts and minds. 

Given the ravages of the coronavirus crisis, the future of Europe cannot be one of permanent division between its northern and southern states.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken our economic and political institutions. Less detectably, the crisis also rattles our ideals of democracy and individual freedom. Public health imperatives have collided with democratic principles as fundamental as the freedom to come and go. We have every reason to believe that the exigencies of the moment will also come into conflict with privacy.

In Finland, they’re drinking boxed wine and playing Korona, a board game. In Greece, they’re stockpiling feta. The French refuse to stop kissing. ISIS is telling its members to avoid traveling to Europe to conduct attacks. And, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, hand-washing stations are everywhere; they know the drill.