This week, a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an unprecedented assault, mass arrests in Hong Kong cracked down on the democracy movement, the UK and EU experienced their first week of full separation, and tensions rose with Iran following its announcement that it would resume enriching uranium above 20%. Read more below.
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This Week's Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Madeleine Albright, Helen Clark, and Peggy Clark on Aspen Ideas To Go: “The World Needs Women In Leadership Roles”
Ash Carter, William Perry et al in The Washington Post: “The Time to Question Election Results Has Passed, All Living Former Defense Secretaries Say”
Eliot Cohen in The Atlantic: “Don’t Despair: Americans Are Equal to This Moment”
Peter Feaver and Jim Golby in War on the Rocks: “Biden Inherits A Challenging Civil-Military Legacy”
Joseph Nye in The Wall Street Journal: “Cold War with China Is Avoidable”
Penny Pritzker on The Washington Post Live: “New Government with Chuck Hagel & Penny Pritzker”
David Sanger and Julian Barnes in The New York Times: “Hacking ‘Likely’ Came From Russia, U.S. Says in Belated Statement”
Anne-Marie Slaughter, Joseph Nye et al in Foreign Policy: “The World After the Coronavirus”
Tweet of the Week
Things to Know
Stay Informed with Important Analysis Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Daniel Arkin et al on NBC News: "4 Dead, Congress Evacuated, National Guard Activated After Pro-Trump Rioters Storm Capitol"
Bloomberg Opinion: "Europe's New Pact with China Is Terribly Timed"
Michael Crowley and David Sanger in The New York Times: "Biden to Tap More Former Obama Officials for Top National Security Jobs"
Pamela Constable in The Washington Post: “Troubled Afghan-Taliban Peace Talks Resume Amid Violence, Accusations”
Julia Friedlander in The National Interest: "Furor Over Europe's Investment Agreement with China Is Overblown"
Shibani Mahtani and Theodora Yu in The Washington Post: “‘Total Submission’: With Mass Arrests, China Neutralizes Hong Kong Democracy Movement”
Victoria Nuland in Foreign Affairs: "Pinning Down Putin: How A Confident America Should Deal with Russia"
Rob Picheta on CNN: "Iran Ramps Up Uranium Enrichment and Seizes Tanker As Tensions Rise with U.S."
Saphora Smith on NBC News: “New Era For Europe As U.K., E.U. Complete Brexit Separation”
Book of the Week
By Daniel Yergin
“World politics is being upended, as a new cold war develops between the United States and China, and the rivalry grows more dangerous with Russia, which is pivoting east toward Beijing. Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping are converging both on energy and on challenging American leadership, as China projects its power and influence in all directions. The South China Sea, claimed by China and the world's most critical trade route, could become the arena where the United States and China directly collide. The map of the Middle East, which was laid down after World War I, is being challenged by jihadists, revolutionary Iran, ethnic and religious clashes, and restive populations. But the region has also been shocked by the two recent oil price collapses--one from the rise of shale, the other the coronavirus--and by the very question of oil's future in the rest of this century. A master storyteller and global energy expert, Daniel Yergin takes the reader on an utterly riveting and timely journey across the world's new map. He illuminates the great energy and geopolitical questions in an era of rising political turbulence and points to the profound challenges that lie ahead.”
Learn More
Building Political Will in the Americas
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
12:00 p.m. ET
In this conversation, three leaders — Madeleine Albright in the United States, Lloyd Axworthy in Canada, and Mayu Brizuela de Ávila in El Salvador — will discuss proposed domestic actions and policies as well as the international peace and security diplomacy needed to build political will and transform governance to reset the response to forced displacement. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof will moderate the event.
This event is presented by the Aspen Ministers Forum and the World Refugee Council and Migration Council.
In Memoriam
On a sad note, the Aspen Strategy Group mourns the loss of ASG member and dear friend Professor Richard Cooper. Among his many accomplishments, Professor Cooper previously served as Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Monetary Affairs. His wise counsel and thoughtful contributions to our group will be dearly missed.
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