Environment & Climate Change

Stephan Walt writes that Trump's foreign-policy instincts might be more sound—but he has forfeited the chance to lead.

This essay makes three arguments. First, the US government will need to establish a coronavirus commission, similar to the 9/11 commission, to determine why, since April 2020, the United States has suffered more coronavirus fatalities than any other country in the world. Second, the COVID-19 pandemic represents a watershed for what will be a major national security theme this century: biological threats, both from naturally occurring pathogens and from synthesized biology. Third, intelligence about globalized challenges, such as pandemics, needs to be dramatically reconceptualized, stripping away outmoded levels of secrecy.

Joseph Nye writes that the world is increasingly obsessed with the ongoing power struggle between the United States and China. But the technology-driven shift of power away from states to transnational actors and global forces brings a new and unfamiliar complexity to global affairs.

Stephen Walt offers what he considers to be the top five silver linings from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Juliette Kayyem writes that Hurricane Dorian has made the Bahamas the newest evidence of the changing climate and sea-level rise: Disasters are changing, and the response to them must change as well.

Juliette Kayyem explains why the White House’s decision to divert funds from the military to support border wall funding is not only unsound policy but also dangerous. First, the White House last week moved $271 million in Department of Homeland Security funding, a majority of which was allocated for FEMA planning and response, to support border wall construction; this week, the defense secretary authorized more than $3 billion in military funds for barrier construction. Those funds were designated for military construction and upgrades — the very funds Congress designates to keep its bases at full readiness.