This week, a WHO report about the origins of the coronavirus raised concerns about China's transparency, fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces escalated in Donetsk, and three leaders of Brazil's military branches resigned after a major cabinet reshuffle. Read more below.
Also this week, we are proud to announce the inaugural cohort of the Aspen Strategy Group Rising Leaders Program! These young leaders hail from diverse backgrounds and sectors but have one thing in common - their passion for national security and foreign policy.
This Week's Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Madeleine Albright, John Negroponte, and Thomas Pickering in Foreign Policy: "The United States Must Pay the United Nations What It Owes"
Nicholas Burns in a House Appropriations Committee hearing: “Leading by Action: Diversity & Inclusion in the Foreign Policy Workforce”
Michèle Flournoy in a Tisch College discussion: “Defense Policy in the Post-Trump Era with Michèle Flournoy”
Dina Powell McCormick in a George W. Bush Presidential Center discussion: "Five Questions with Dina Powell McCormick"
Condoleezza Rice featured by Fox News: “Condoleezza Rice: What to Know About the Barrier-Breaking Former Secretary of State, National Security Adviser”
Anne-Marie Slaughter and Samm Sacks in Project Syndicate: "Changing the Face of Sino-American Relations"
Dan Sullivan quoted in David Sanger’s analysis for The New York Times: “Biden Defines His Underlying Challenge With China: ‘Prove Democracy Works’”
Philip Zelikow discusses his latest book with The Wilson Center: “The Road Less Traveled: The Secret Battle to End the Great War, 1916-1917”
Robert Zoellick in a Seton Hall University discussion
Tweet of the Week
Upcoming Events
A Live Conversation with
Christine Lagarde,
the President of the European Central Bank
Speaker
Christine Lagarde
President of the European Central Bank
In Conversation With
David Rubenstein
Co-Founder and Co-Chairman
The Carlyle Group
Wednesday, April 28
10:00 - 11:00 AM ET
Things to Know
Stay Informed with Important Analysis Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Things to Know
Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
William Adkins in Politico: “Macron and Merkel Discuss Vaccine Cooperation with Russia”
BBC News: “NATO Intercepts Russian Planes '10 Times in a Day'”
Eric Cheung for CNN: “Hong Kong Court Convicts Media Tycoon Jimmy Lai and Other Activists Over Peaceful Protest”
Alan Cullison and Thomas Grove in The Wall Street Journal: "Russian Troop Movements on Ukraine Border Test Biden Administration"
Adam Nossiter in The New York Times: “The Taliban Think They Have Already Won, Peace Deal or Not”
Tom Phillips in The Guardian: “Brazil on Edge as Three Military Chiefs Resign After Bolsonaro Fires Defense Minister”
Emily Rauhala in The Washington Post: “WHO Chief, U.S. and Other World Leaders Criticize China for Limiting Access of Team Researching Coronavirus Origins”
Book of the Week
By David Shambaugh
"After the end of the Cold War, it seemed as if Southeast Asia would remain a geopolitically stable region within the American-led order for the foreseeable future. In the last two decades, however, the re-emergence of China as a major great power has called into question the geopolitical future of the region and raised the specter of renewed great power competition.
As the eminent China scholar David Shambaugh explains in Where Great Powers Meet, the United States and China are engaged in a broad-gauged and global competition for power. While this competition ranges across the entire world, it is centered in Asia. In this book, Shambaugh focuses on the critical sub-region of Southeast Asia. The United States and China constantly vie for position and influence across this enormously significant area--and the outcome of this contest will do much to determine whether Asia leaves the American orbit after seven decades and falls into a new Chinese sphere of influence. Just as importantly, to the extent that there is a global 'power transition' occurring from the U.S. to China, the fate of Southeast Asia will be a good indicator. Presently, both powers bring important assets to bear in their competition. The United States continues to possess a depth and breadth of security ties, soft power, and direct investment across the region that empirically outweigh China's. For its part, China has more diplomatic influence, much greater trade, and geographic proximity. In assessing the likelihood of a regional power transition, Shambaugh examines how ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and its member states maneuver and the degree to which they align with one or the other power."
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