| | | | The Whistleblower Story: Institutional Flaws and Ukraine's Predicament | | The Trump era has tested US institutions before, but The Atlantic's Mike Giglio adds another to the list: whistleblower protections. The Trump-Ukraine story has revealed that, despite established policies, authorities have too much control over how such complaints are handled, Giglio writes. (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has requested that Congress receive both testimony, and a full copy of the complaint, from a whistleblower who alleged impropriety in a phone call between President Trump and a foreign leader, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has called for a subpoena; the story has centered on reports that Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a phone call, to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's son.)
As for Ukraine's role in the story, Zelensky is in a tough position, Leonid Bershidsky writes at Bloomberg. Ukraine can't afford to take sides in US politics, Bershidsky advises—either Trump or Biden could win in 2020—so no one should expect Zelensky to tip the scales. | | Trump at the UN: Alone Again | | | With President Trump slated to address the UN General Assembly tomorrow, Stewart Patrick writes at the World Politics Review that his appearance will yet again highlight America's isolation—particularly as Trump skips a summit on universal health care (women's reproductive health being a point of contention). The week will demonstrate that other countries still want to participate in a multilateral system, even as the US has withdrawn, Patrick writes; unfortunately for America, its rival China is filling that void, as it gains more clout in UN bodies. | | Is the End Near for China's Communist Party? | | As China prepares to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its communist era, the Chinese Communist Party might be approaching its demise, Minxin Pei writes at Project Syndicate. Historically, 70 years is a common expiration date for one-party regimes, he writes, and China faces serious challenges: a brewing cold war with the US (in which it holds a weaker hand), economic challenges, and an authoritarian turn that makes policy mistakes more likely.
Then again, several points argue in the People's Republic's favor: As a recent CSIS report shows, those "economic headwinds" might not be so strong, as Chinese companies have gained ground on American firms with astonishing speed (growing from $1.1 trillion in total revenue in 2008 to $7.9 trillion in 2019). And, as Ali Wyne and James Dobbins argue at The National Interest, America has mismanaged its economic war with China by withdrawing from TPP, decoupling from Chinese technology in a way that might prompt a Chinese tech boom, and failing to offer a global "geoeconomic agenda" to compete with China's. | | | Aside from the demise of key arms-control treaties, Eric Brewer lists even more reasons why nuclear weapons could see a revival, in a Foreign Affairs essay. As the US withdraws from its alliances, countries have more incentive to build their own arsenals for protection; the US also finds itself with less ability to pressure countries against building nukes; and as great-power competition returns, and as authoritarian leaders go their own ways, the geopolitical landscape entices countries to gird for conflict, Brewer argues—and they might develop nuclear weapons as a result. | | | | | | |
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