This week, Brexit talks continued with rising pressure to reach a deal, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade agreement between China and 14 other Asia-Pacific nations was signed, and Moderna announced a second effective coronavirus vaccine. Read more below.
This Week's Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Nicholas Burns, Mark Grossman, and Marcie Ries publish Belfer Center report: “A U.S. Diplomatic Service for the 21st Century”
Eliot Cohen, Ed Luce, and Mark Brzezinski in SAIS discussion: “A Conversation with Edward Luce on His New Project: A Biography of Zbigniew Brzezinski”
Michael Green and Gregory Poling's CSIS analysis: “Biden Can Engage Southeast Asia and Still Promote Good Governance"
Anja Manuel in ChinaFile conversation: "How Can the U.S. Maintain Global Leadership in Science and Technology?"
Joseph Nye in Project Syndicate: "International Institutions Still Matter to the U.S."
David Sanger et al in The New York Times: “Trump Sought Options for Attacking Iran to Stop Its Growing Nuclear Program
Anne-Marie Slaughter in Financial Times: "There Is a Way to Keep America Globally Engaged"
Frances Townsend on CBS News: “Implications of Trump's Transition Delay”
Robert Zoellick in The Washington Post: “Here’s How Biden Can Work with a GOP-Controlled Senate and Make Real Progress”
Tweet of the Week
Upcoming Events
The View from Berlin: A Conversation with Germany's Minister of Health
Featuring Jens Spahn
Federal Minister of Health, Germany
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
12:00 - 1:00 PM ET
Germany's response to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic propelled Berlin into a global leadership role, with many nations emulating its testing and transparent messaging strategies. But after a string of early domestic and international successes—including the re-opening of businesses and schools and Berlin's key negotiating role in the EU's historic relief agreement—Germany has gone back into lockdown amidst a second wave of rising infection caseloads. As the second wave of the coronavirus rolls over Europe, Jens Spahn, Minister of Health of Germany, joins the Aspen Security Forum to discuss key questions about the pandemic .
Things to Know
Stay Informed with Important Analysis Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Amy Gunia in TIME: "Why the U.S. Could Be the Big Loser in the Huge RCEP Trade Deal Between China and 14 Other Countries"
Carolyn Johnson in The Washington Post: “Moderna’s Coronavirus Vaccine Found to Be Nearly 95 Percent Effective in a Preliminary Analysis”
Eoin McSweeney on CNN: “A Full-Scale Humanitarian Crisis Is Unfolding In Ethiopia, the UN Says”
Vivian Nereim on Bloomberg: “Once-Reformist Crown Prince Takes the Helm as PM in Bahrain”
William Schomberg in The Guardian: “UK, Ireland Say Breakthrough Needed In Brexit Talks This Week”
Book of the Week
By Barack Obama
In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world.
Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and authorizes Operation Neptune’s Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden. This beautifully written and powerful book captures Obama’s conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by day.
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