Your Wednesday Briefing

“People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election.”
Otto Von Bismarck


By Azra Isakovic

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Good morning

Welcome to Your Wednesday Briefing

Featured

Inde – L’Inde🇮🇳 : une puissance singulière | Questions internationales – N° 106 | La Documentation française | [PDF]

Books

Taiwan – Difficult Choices Richard C. Bush | Brookings Institution Press

Must-Reads

Russia/Ukraine –War Alert: What’s Behind It and What Lies Ahead? Dmitri Trenin | Carnegie Russia
EU/China – The EU-China investment deal may be anachronic in a bifurcating world, Alicia Garcia Herrero | Bruegel
US – Biden’s Foreign Policy Starts At Home, Peter Nicholas | The Atlantic
EU/UK –UK goods trade with EU signals recovery, by Anna Tsaac | Politico
US/Russia – Nuclear arms control in the 2020s. Key issues for the US and Russia, Steven Pifer | Valdai Discussion Club
Russia/Ukraine – Penned in on Multiple International Issues, Putin Strives to Show Resolve on Ukraine, Pavel K. Baev | The Jamestown Foundation
Russia/Ukraine – Russia, Ukraine and the West: How do you solve a problem like Vladimir? Ian Bond | Centre for European Reform
US/Europe/China – Shifting Commercial Ties Among the U.S., Europe and China, Daniel S. Hamilton and Joseph P. Quinlan | Wilson Center
China – Some initial notes on China’s central bank digital currency | Bruno Maçães
EU-China –Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, Stewart Paterson |  Hinrich Foundation
Nord Stream 2 – Background, objections, and possible outcomes, Steven Pifer | Brookings Institution

Research & Analysis

Rebuild with purpose –  An affirmative vision for  21st century American  infrastructure, Adie Tomer, Joseph W. Kane, and Caroline George | Brookings Institution
China/EU – Is the European Union’s investment agreement with China underrated? Uri Dadush and Andre Sapir | Bruegel
Arctic – Northern expedition: China’s Arctic ambition and activism, RushDoshi, Alexis Dale-Huang, Gaoqi Zhang | Brookings Institution
Think tanks –How do think tanks react to or foster change? OTT Annual Review 2020-2021 | On Think Tanks

Podcasts

History Of Ideas –Nozick on Utopia | Talking Politics

Your Monday Briefing

“Absolute power demoralizes.”  Lord Acton


By Azra Isakovic

Monday, April 12, 2021

Good morning

Welcome to Your Monday Briefing

Featured

Big Tech – Meet the Professor Who’s Warning the World About Facebook and Google, Sarah Brown | The Chronicle of Higher Education

Books

Social Psychology – The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can’t Cure Our Social Ills Jesse Singal | Amazon
Nationalism – 100 Best Nationalism Books of All Time |  BookAuthority
Review – Are We Living in an Age of Strongmen? David A. Bell | The Nation

Must-Reads

EU – Brussels faces battle on new pan-EU revenue sources, Sam Fleming and Jim Brunsden | Financial Times
Europe – Les Capitales | EURACTIV France @EURACTIV_FR
Turquie/Italie – La Turquie suspend des contrats italiens à la suite de commentaires de Mario Draghi | EURACTIV France
Iran – Blackout Hits Iran Nuclear Site in What Appears to Be Israeli Sabotage By Ronen Bergman, Rick Gladstone and Farnaz Fassihi | The New York Times 
US/Iran/JCPOA – Hawks preview strategy to oppose Biden’s ‘woke’ Iran policy, Matthew Petti | Responsible Statecraft
Social Psychology –The False Promise of Quick-Fix, Jesse Singal | The Wall Street Journal
Essay – Philip, Prince of Nowhere Ed West | UnHerd
US – Crisis of Command Risa Brooks, Jim Golby et Heidi Urben | Foreign Affairs
Pandemic – The Gaslighting of Science by Zeynep Tufekci | Insight
UK Security Review – A Post Mortem of a Disintegrated Review, Jack Watling  | RUSI
US/Iran/JCPOA – For true JCPOA re-entry, Biden must tear down this sanctions wall, Tyler Cullis | Responsible Statecraft
Technology –Europe in the Geopolitics of Technology, Alice Pannier | Ifri

Research & Analysis

Japan/Africa – Japan’s Economic Diplomacy in Africa: Between Strategic Priorities and Local Realities, Céline Pajon | Ifri
EU/Defence – Europe’s Missile Defence and Italy: Capabilities and Cooperation, Alessandro Marrone, Karolina Muti | IAI
UK Security Review – Defence in a competitive age | GOV.UK
Iraq – 18 Years of Terror and Destruction, by Hannah Mulhern and Razan al-Shammari | GICJ
Russia/China/Arctic – Partners, Competitors, or a Little of Both?  Jim Townsend and Andrea Kendall-Taylor | CNAS

Podcasts

Political Economy – The future of capitalism, Branko Milanovic  | AEI Economics

Strongmen – Mussolini to Present | YouTube

Your Friday Briefing

God cannot alter the past, though historians can.
Samuel Butler


By Azra Isakovic

Friday April 2, 2021

Good morning

Welcome to Your Friday Briefing

Featured

Biosecurity – WHO’s “exciting adventure” to find the origins of COVID-19 runs into trouble, Thomas Gaulkin, Matthew Field | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Books

The BiographyPHILIP ROTH, Blake Bailey, by Cynthia Ozick | The New York Times
À propos de – “Liberalism, Diversity and Domination, Kant, Mill and the Government of Difference”, Inder S. Marwah | Cambridge University Press

Must-Reads

EU/China – Watching China in Europe – April 2021, Noah Barkin | German Marshall Fund
China – Is It Too Late to Challenge China’s Belt and Road?  Howard French | WP Review
Russia – An Opportunity for Russia’s Northern Sea Route?  Sergey Sukhankin | Jamestown
China – The New China Shock  Mark Leonard | Project Syndicate
Digital/Finance – Who Needs a Digital Dollar?  Barry Eichengreen | Japan Times
US/Russia/Arctics – U.S.-Russian Arctic Relations: A Change in Climate? Heather A. Conley and Colin Wall | CSIS
Suez – The Next Suez Threat? a Big Hack  Victoria Coates & Robert Greenway | Bloomberg
Russia – Russia’s Extraterritorial Military Deployments  Jeff Hawn | Newlines
Russia – Cyber Deterrence Matters  Erica Borghard | Russia Matters
Ukraine – Russian Troop Movements on Ukraine Border Test Biden Administration, Thomas Grove and Alan Cullison | Wall Street Journal
Europe/Populism – Orban plots new populist alliance for European parliament, Valerie Hopkins, James Shotter, Davide Ghiglione | FT

Research & Analysis

EU/Digital/Trade – EU Digital Policy and International Trade, Rachel F. Fefer | Congressional Research Service
Trade –2021 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers | United States Trade Representative
EU/Digital – Europe’s Quest for Digital Sovereignty: GAIA-X as a Case Study, Simona Autolitano and Agnieszka Pawlowska | IAI


Podcasts

Europe – Scandinavie : des socio-démocrates nouvelle génération Florian Delorme | France Culture

Your Wednesday Briefing

The EU’s Strategic Autonomy Trap | How ‘Maximum Pressure’ Failed Against Iran | The Uyghur Genocide: An Examination of China’s Breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention | B-52s in the Middle East | Never Speak to Strangers and Other Writing from Russia and the Soviet Union


By Azra Isakovic

Wednesday, March 10 2021

Good morning

Welcome to Your Wednesday Briefing

Books

Philosophy – The Crisis of German Philosophy, by Graham Mcaleer  | Law & Liberty
Reviewed – Learning to Grieve, by Clair Wills | The New York Review of Books
Russia – Fear, Loathing, and Surrealism in Russia, by Emina Melonic | Law & Liberty

Must-Reads

EU – The EU’s Strategic Autonomy Trap by Richard Youngs | Carnegie Europe

US/Arctic – How the U.S. Can Win the Arctic  by Robert O’Brien & Ryan Tully, National Interest
Russia/China/US – A Russian-Chinese Partnership Against America?  by Charles Ziegler, National Interest
Israel – Israel Is the Arab World’s New Great Power  by Anchal Vohra | Foreign Policy
Africa – Uganda’s Election Re-Exposed Regional Faultlines  by L. Taylor & H. Matsiko | Afr. Arg.
Georgia Future – Georgia’s Democratic Future Is in Doubt  by Paul Stronski | World Politics Review
China – The Stories China Tells  by Jessica Chen Weiss | Foreign Affairs
US/ Middle East – B-52s in the Middle East by George Friedman | Geopolitical Futures
China/Middle East – The Role China Might Play in the Middle East  by James Dorsey | Responsible Statecraft
Iran/JCPOE – How ‘Maximum Pressure’ Failed Against Iran  | International Crisis Group

Research & Analysis

EU/Western Balkans – Slovenia, Serbia and an EU-Balkan breakthrough in 2021 | European Stability Initiative ESI
Economy – Strengthening the recovery: The need for speed. Interim Economic Outlook | OECD
China/Human Rights – The Uyghur Genocide: An Examination of China’s Breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention, | New Lines Institute

Podcasts

Enjeux Internationaux – La justice brésilienne, indépendante ou opportuniste ?  Julie Gacon | France Culture

[PODCAST] 🎧

Quote of the day :
Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud. Hermann Hesse

Your Monday Briefing

“Americans dreaded democracy and contrived their constitution against it.”
Lord Acton


By Azra Isakovic

Jan. 25, 2021

Good morning

Welcome to Your Monday Briefing

Books

Matt Gallagher – Empire City | CONSEQUENCE

Michael Lind – The New National American Elite  | Tablet
Richard M. Reinsch II – Why We Need Freedom From Aristocrats  | Law & Liberty
John Rogister – Voltaire’s History of Louis XIV’s Reign  | Times Literary Supplement-

Must-Reads

EU/Europe – Chartbook Newsletter # 12 by Adam Tooze

China/Climate – The geopolitics of climate Bruno Maçães
France/Algeria – France tries to come to terms with colonial past in Algeria | Financial Times
National Interest – System Worked: Stress-Testing American Democracy  by Graham Allison
TomDispatch – Peering Into a Forever-War Crystal Ball  Danny Sjursen,
Washington Post – The Biden Admin’s Saudi Problem  David Ignatius,
Moscow Times – Protests for Navalny Sweep Russia  Uliana Pavlova & Felix Light,
WPR – Can Laschet Lead Germany’s CDU Into Post-Merkel Era?  Josie Le Blond,
Al Monitor – Who Is Behind Attacks on Turkish Presence in Idlib?  Sultan al-Kanj
The National – Has Biden Cooled on Iran Nuclear Talks Return?  Raghida Dergham
Spectator – Russia Hit by Protests  Owen Matthews
War on the Rocks – Counterterrorism and the Rule of Law  Deborah Pearlstein
Foreign Affairs – Iran Wants the Nuclear Deal It Made  Mohammad Javad Zari

Research & Analysis

Report – Vibrant Neighborhoods Forum: Leveraging Civic Engagement for Social Impact by Anne Marie E. Brady & Lauren Burke | German Marshall Fund
Arctic – Inside, Outside, Upside Down? Non-Arctic States in Emerging Arctic Security Discourses, Marc Lanteigne, in Kristina Spohr and Daniel S. Hamilton, editors, Jason Moyer, associate editor
Nuclear – The New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions, Congressional Research Service

Podcast

Histoire du mensonge (1/4) : Les démocraties ont-elles inventé la propagande ? par Xavier Mauduit | France Culture




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Your Thursday Briefing

We are not makers of history. We are made by history.
Martin Luther King, Jr.


By Azra Isakovic

Jan. 21, 2021

Good morning

Welcome to Your Thursday Briefing

Books

Samuel Beckett – The Wisdom of Surrender  Andy Wimbush, Aeon
Booksellers – Iconic Paris Bookshop Closes  Julia Webster Ayuso, The Guardian
LRB – Goodbye, Europe  Perry Anderson, London Review of Books
Postmodernism – Is Postmodernism Really Worthless?  Park MacDougald, Washington Examiner

Must-Read

US – Joe Biden’s Inauguration Speech Transcript, Washington Post
US – Donald Trump is Out. Are We Ready to Talk About How He Got In Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic 
US – What to Expect in Biden’s First 100 Days in Foreign Policy, Robbie Gramer, Amy Mackinnon, Jack Detsch, and Christina Lu, Foreign Policy   
US – Biden Wants to Unite the Country. How Can He Do It? Politico Magazine  
US – The Rebels Are Still Among Us, Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic   
Digital – 2021 Is the Year the Internet Gets Rewritten, Tyson Barker, Foreign Policy
Italy – Italy: No Political Crisis, But an Economic One, Valbona Zeleni, The Globalist
Russia – How to Contain Putin’s Russia, Michael McFaul, Foreign Affairs  
Health – Second report on progress, Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, WHO
Health – Wealthy Countries Should Share Vaccine Doses Before It Is Too Late, Lawrence O. Gostin, Eric A. Friedman, and Suerie Moon, Foreign Affairs 
US/Afghanistan – Writing Off Afghanistan: Does Biden Have a Choice? Anthony H. Cordesman, CSIS

Research & Analysis

Digital – A U.S. Grand Strategy for the Global Digital Economy, Robert D. Atkinson, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation 
US/Europe/Technology – Artificial divide: How Europe and America could clash over AI, Ulrike Esther Franke, ECFR 

   

Podcast  

What does President Biden mean for the EU-US relationship? Dan Hamilton, Global Europe Unpacked 
Essential Geopolitics: China vs. Australia  Stratfor Worldview
4 Principles to Guide U.S. Policy Toward China  ChinaFile

 


Your Thursday Briefing

America’s present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration. – Warren G. Harding


By Azra Isakovic

Jan. 14, 2021

Good morning

Welcome to Your Thursday Briefing

Books

Books –  La société de vigilance. Auto-surveillance, délation et haines sécuritaires, par Vanessa Codaccioni | Éditions Textuel
Books – Introduction à Antonio Gramsci by George HOARE, Nathan SPERBER | Éditions La Découverte
Books –  French Defence Policy Since the End of the Cold War, by Alice Pannier, Olivier Schmitt  | Routledge Books
Books –  Rivals in Arms: The Rise of UK-France Defence Relations in the Twenty-First Century by Alice Pannier | McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal

Must-Reads 

US – Impeachable Speech, Katherine Shaw, Emory Law Journal 
US – Institutional Integrity: Learning the Right Lessons from the Capitol Siege, Suzanne Spaulding and Devi Nair, CSIS 
US – We Tried to Warn You, Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic  
US/China/Technology – What the Cold War can teach Washington about Chinese tech tensions, Brendan Thomas-Noone, Brookings  
Lithuania – Vilnius at 30 – Nothing Must Be Forgotten, Paul Goble  
Estonia – Estonia’s PM resigns as corruption scandal hits ruling coalition, Richard Milne, Financial Times 
Baltics/Russia – The Sorry State of Baltic-Russian Relations, Sergei Utkin, Carnegie Moscow  
Germany – A Small Window of Opportunity, Stefanie Babst, Internationale Politik Quarterly   
Technology/Digital – Internet 3.0 and the Beginning of (Tech) History, Ben Thompson, Stratechery 
Technology – The Global AI Index, Tortoise 
Technology/US – Summary of AI Provisions from the National Defense Authorization Act 2021, Stanford University Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence 
Europe – Will Europe Part Ways with Populism in 2021? Shane Markowitz, World Politics Review 

Research & Analysis

US/Health/Global – COVID-19 exposes a changed world: A prescription for renewing U.S. global partnership, George Ingram, Brookings  
Data/Tech – Good Intentions, Bad Inventions – The Four Myths of Healthy Tech, by Amanda Lenhart & Kellie Owens | Data & Society 📥 PDF
Arctic –The U.S.-Canada Northwest Passage Disagreement: Why Agreeing to Disagree Is More Important Than Ever, Suzanne Lalonde, in Kristina Spohr and Daniel S. Hamilton, editors, Jason Moyer, associate edito

Podcasts

Idées – Sommes-nous entrés dans une société de vigilance ? par Vanessa Codaccioni et Olivia Gesbert | France Culture

Your Tuesday Briefing

Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching. – Thomas Jefferson


By Azra Isakovic

Jan. 12, 2021

Good morning

Welcome to Your Tuesday Briefing

Books

Books – Too Nice to Be President? By Tim Stanley | Literary Review
Books – ‘Visionary success’: Jonathan Alter makes the case for Jimmy Carter David Smith | The Guardian
Books – ‘Reaganland’ explores how ‘the Gipper’ changed American politics | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Must-Reads

EU/China – The EU’s Double Bind  Mark Leonard, Internationale Politik Quarterly
US – The Ingredients of a Coup Attempt  Fiona Hill, Politico
US – The American Abyss, Timothy Snyder, New York Times 
US – Present at the Destruction, Richard Haass, Foreign Affairs  
US – The US Must Now Stand Up for Democracy at Home and Abroad, Thomas Wright, The Atlantic 
US – The United States Needs a Democracy Summit at Home, James Goldgeier and Bruce W. Jentleson, Foreign Affairs   
US – American Soft Power Will Survive Donald Trump, Joseph S. Nye, Jr., National Interest 
Europe – Europe is not immune from America’s political madness, Gideon Rachman, Financial Times   
US/Western Balkans – How Biden can make a big difference in the Western Balkans, Engjellushe Morina and Vessela Tcherneva, European Council on Foreign Relations 
Europe/China/Investment – Europe’s China Gambit, Dani Rodrik, Project Syndicate   

Research & Analysis

UK/Foreign Policy – Global Britain, global broker: A blueprint for the UK’s future international role, Robin Niblett, Chatham House  
Germany/France/Defense – Future Combat Air System: Too Big to Fail, Dominic Vogel, SWP
Arctic –Freedom of the Seas in the Arctic Region, J. Ashley Roach, in Kristina Spohr and Daniel S. Hamilton, editors, Jason Moyer, associate editor

Your Friday Briefing

Lying is an elementary means of self-defense ~ Susan Sontag


By Azra Isakovic
Jan. 8, 2021

Good morning

Welcome to your Friday briefing

Books

Books – Underground Asia – Global Revolutionaries and the Assault on Empire, by Tim Harper | Harvard University Press
Book Review – Deplorable, yourself, by Isaac William Martin | Books & Ideas
Book Review: White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg | LSE USAPP blog

Must-Reads

Capitol Hill – The Peril the U.S. Faces  International Crisis Group
Capitol Hill – Mike Davis, Riot on the Hill New Left Review
Capitol Hill – The storming of Capitol Hill was organized on social media by Sheera Frenkel | New York Times
Capitol Hill – Amid a transfer of power, Trump supporters break into Capitol – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Capitol Hill – Trump Told Crowd ‘You Will Never Take Back Our Country With Weakness, by Maggie Haberman | New York Times
Russia – Russia’s Northern Fleet Upgraded  Roger McDermott, Jamestown
EU – With UK Gone, Smaller Nations Fight EU Integration  William Nattrass, CapX
Biden – What’s Next for Foreign Aid Under Biden?  Kristen Cordell, Council on Foreign Relations
Israel/IranIs This the Year Israel and Iran Go to War?  Seth Frantzman, 1945
France – France a Post-Imperial Power Seeking a Role  Philip Stephens, Financial Times
Russia – Russia’s Northern Fleet Upgraded to military District Status, Roger McDermott, The Jamestown 
EU/Russia – The EU in Action: Russia, Sarah Pagung, Internationale Politik Quarterly  
EU/Middle East/North Africa –The EU in Action: The Middle East and North Africa, Florence Gaub, Internationale Politik Quarterly 
EU/Turkey – The EU in Action: Turkey, Günter Seufert, Internationale Politik Quarterly 

Research & Analysis

US/China/Russia – The Biden Transition and U.S. Competition with China and Russia: The Crisis-Driven Need to Change U.S. Strategy, Anthony H. Cordesman with the assistance of Grace Hwang, CSIS
Arctic/Nuclear – Strategic Stability and Competition in the Arctic, Rebecca Hersman, Eric Brewer, and Maxwell Simon, CSIS
China/Central and Eastern Europe – Huawei in Central and Eastern Europe: Trends and Forecast, Ivana Karásková, ed., Association for International Affairs Prague
Arctic – Climate Change and the Opening of the Transpolar Sea Route: Logistics, Governance, and Wider Geo-economic, Societal and Environmental Impacts, Kristina Spohr and Daniel S. Hamilton, editors, Jason Moyer, associate editor 

Podcasts

Capitol Hill – Après l’assaut du Capitole, Donald Trump accepte enfin de quitter la Maison Blanche | France Culture

      

   


Welcome to your Wednesday briefing

Turn on to politics, or politics will turn on you. – Ralph Nader


Azra Isakovic

Wednesday January 6

Good Morning

Welcome to your Wednesday briefing

Books

Books – Fateful triangle: how China shaped US–India relations during the Cold War | Oxford Academic | International AffairsLivres – Et si la santé guidait le monde ? par Eloi Laurent | Les liens qui libèrent
Livres Apocalypse cognitive, par Gérald Bronner | PUF
Livres Sortir de la croissance, mode d’emploi, de Éloi Laurent par Étienne Espagne | La vie des idées

Must-Reads

China🇨🇳/HongKong🇭🇰 – Dozens of Hong Kong pro-democracy figures arrested in sweeping crackdown, by Helen Davidson | The Guardian
Mali🇲🇱 Wedding guests killed in Mali airstrike, local sources say | The Guardian
EU-China – The Strategic Implications of the China-EU Investment Deal, By Theresa Fallon | The Diplomat
Russia/Baltic – Why the Baltics Behave As They Do Toward Russia, Kadri Liik | Carnegie Russia
Gulf States – Gulf States end blockade on Qatar, now the heavy lifting begins by Dr. Annelle Sheline | Responsible Statecraft
Health/US/Europe – Coronavirus Exposed that America Lacks Resilience, Andrew Michta, The National Interest, Andrew Michta, The National Interest
Europe/Africa/Health –How Europe can work with Africa amid the global scramble for vaccines, Theodore Murphy, European Council on Foreign Relations 
Health/Global – COVID-19 Could Undo Decades of Women’s Progress, Jamille Bigio, Kweilin Ellingrud, Mekala Keishnan, Anu Madgavkar, and Rachel Vogelstein, Foreign Affairs  
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Old tensions still alive in Bosnia 25 years after Dayton, Valerie Hopkins, Financial Times   
UK/EU – The great Brexit heist, Nick Witney, European Council on Foreign Relations  
Germany/China – What Merkel Really Thinks About China – and the World, Noah Barkin, Foreign Policy  
EU/China –Furor Over Europe’s Investment Agreement with China is Overblown, Julia Friedlander, National Interest 
Technology/China – Dealing with China on high-tech issues: Views from the US, EU and like-minded countries in a changing geopolitical landscape, Brigitte Dekker and Maaike Okano-Heijmans (eds.), Clingendael 
Russia/US – The Meddlers: Moscow’s and Washington’s Covert Campaigns, Angela Stent, Foreign Affairs 

Research & Analysis

Top Risks/2021 – Top Risks in 2021  Eurasia Group
Russia/EU – Neighborliness as a model for Russia-EU relations in 2030 by Dmitri Trenin | Moscow Carnegie Centre PDF
Arctic/Russia – Russia and the Development of Arctic Energy Resources in the Context of Domestic Policy and International Markets, Arild Moe, in Kristina Spohr and Daniel S. Hamilton, editors, Jason Moyer, associate editor,
Arctic –The Arctic and World Order, Johns Hopkins SAIS/Brookings Institution Press   

Podcasts

Economie/Santé –  L’économie d’un monde meilleur (1/3) : Santé ou croissance, l’heure du choix | France Culture