Research

Although the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, one thing is already clear: most nations, including the United States, have struggled to effectively contain the spread of this deadly new virus. Countries have adopted a wide range of unilateral measures to counter the pandemic with highly varying degrees of success; some have nearly contained the virus and have reduced the mortality rate, while others have continued to experience mounting loss of life and severe economic damage. The reasons for these varied outcomes are complex and include factors that cannot be controlled by governments battling the pandemic (e.g. the size and heterogeneity of the country) but other factors are squarely within a government’s power to control.

One striking difference between several of the governments that have been most successful against COVID-19 and those that have not is the effective use of border screening to slow down and contain the spread of the virus. Countries that implemented border screening measures up front, including New Zealand and Japan, have seen dramatically lower COVID-19 death rates1 and less immediate damage to their economies. While life in these countries has resumed some semblance of normalcy eight months into the pandemic, the United States continues to face staggering human and economic costs, including an unemployment rate more than twice what it was before the pandemic, an ongoing recession, and, at the time of writing, 200,000 Americans who have lost their lives.

Although no nation has developed a truly comprehensive border strategy for countering a global pandemic, the results from countries that acted swiftly in this regard are promising, and what we know about the spread of COVID-19 supports the idea that early mitigation at the border is critical. As seen in New Zealand, border screening of all arrivals coupled with aggressive contact tracing can prove highly effective when implemented in the early stages of a pandemic, before large-scale community spread occurs, and the United States should be prepared to take similar steps.

Epidemiological modeling is an important but under-supported field of science that lacks a clear home among the federal science-funding agencies. Additional basic research and translational work in the field is needed between pandemics, and greater operational capabilities are needed during epidemics. The authors of this report have identified here a series of actions that can strengthen modeling efforts and their operationalization, to make the country better prepared for the next pandemic.

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.

An unrestrained Trump could be willing to make a major deal with Kim that would include step-by-step reductions in U.S. troops in South Korea for equivalent steps towards denuclearization.

Devastatingly hard as it is, we must go where she did and stay with the fight, winning for however long it takes.

In the first episode of the new season of Brussels Sprouts, Amb. Nicholas Burns joins Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss U.S.-Europe relations under the Trump administration and how the election could change their course. Burns is the former U.S. ambassador to NATO and Greece, a former career Foreign Service Offer, and a professor of diplomacy and international relations at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Stephen M. Walt advises presidential candidate Joe Biden to embrace nationalism while reaffirming liberal values: They are an election-winning combination.

In this week’s update on COVID-19 and Economic Diplomacy: Global worker income fell by 10% equating to a $3.5 trillion loss. Without fiscal support, the U.S. economic recovery is at risk while the ECB argues to make the recovery fund permanent. 

Samantha Power reviews Peter Baker and Susan Glasser's The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III.

The Boston Tech Hub Faculty Working Group (FWG), hosted by former Secretary of Defense and Belfer Center Director Ash Carter and Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Dean Frank Doyle, holds monthly discussion-based meetings that explore and answer the question:

How do we resolve the dilemmas posed to public good and public purpose, created by technology’s unstoppable advances?

The Boston Tech Hub Faculty Working Group Annual Report is a summary report of findings, key insights, and outstanding questions from the discussions held during the 2019-2020 academic year.