Your Friday Briefing

 » Réfléchir, c’est difficile. C’est pourquoi la plus part des gens jugent. »
Carl Gustav Jung


By Azra Isakovic

Friday, March 05

Good morning

Welcome to Your Friday Briefing

Books

Immigration – We’re Here Because You Were There, by Ian Sanjay Patel | Verso Books
History – Merpeople: A Human History, Vaughn Scribner | Reaktion Books
Books Reviewed – Merpeople: A Human History by Vaughn Scribner, Reaktion, by Marina Warner | The New York Review of Books
Poland – Europe’s Growth Champion by Marcin Piatkowski | Oxford Academic

Must-Reads

France – Is This the End of French Intellectual Life? Christopher Caldwell | New York Times Opinion
US vs China – Biden bets on alliances to push back against Beijing Demetri Sevastopulo | Financial Times
Nuclear Risk – French report grapples with nuclear fallout from Algerian War Austin Cooper | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Vaccine – “Britain’s outsourcing scandal”, by Robert Maisey | Le Monde diplomatique in English US/Germany – US hails German plan to send warship in China Sea | Euractiv
Big Bang – Distinguishing post-communist privatizations from the Big Bang, Branko Milanovic | globalinequality
Vaccine – Vaccine Efficacy, Statistical Power and Mental Models by zeynep tufekci
Russia – Biden’s Risky Russia Sanctions Game  Nikolas Gvosdev, Russia Matters
Yemen – Only a Strong White House Can End Yemen’s Civil War  Con Coughlin, The National
Africa – Great Power Competition Is Coming to Africa  M. Hicks, K. Atwell & D. Collini, FA
Economic behaviour – Witch hunts in pre-modern Germany | Aeon+Psyche
US/Iran – The US, Iran and Bargaining Positions  George Friedman | Geopolitical Futures
US – A Foreign Policy for the American People, Antony Blinken | Department of State

Research & Analysis

Nuclear Risk – Radioactivity Under the Sand by Jean-Marie Collin and Patrice Bouveret | Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung | ICAN France
Economy/Freedom – 2021 Index of Economic Freedom, Heritage Foundation
Digital – The Progressive Case for Universal Internet Access | Tony Blair Institute
Netherlands – Geopolitical Genesis: Dutch Foreign and Security Policy in a Post-COVID World, Clingendael/Hague Centre for Security Studies

Podcasts

Vaccin – Pourquoi le vaccin AstraZeneca suscite-t-il autant de réticences ? | France Culture

Argent –Les nazis et l’argent : au coeur du IIIe Reich | ARTE

   

Your Wednesday Briefing

“Duty [is] not taught by the state.” Lord Acton


By Azra Isakovic

Wednesday, March 03

Good morning

Welcome to Your Wednesday Briefing

Books

France – Communautarisme ? par Marwan Mohammed & Julien Talpin | Puf/Vie des idées
Algeria – Electric News in Colonial Algeria, by Arthur Asseraf | Oxford University Press
How Economics Spurred Witch Hunts in Germany  Johannes Dillinger, Aeon
Was There One Enlightenment or Many?  Jesse Norman, The Spectator USA
The Eclectic Travels of Albrecht Dürer  Laura Cumming, The Guardian

Must-Reads

War – What Civilization Owes to War  Dov Zakheim, National Interest
Ideas – Mars Is a Hellhole  Shannon Stirone, The Atlantic
Japan/CambodiaHow Japan Can Send a Strong Message to Hun Sen  Sam Rainsy, The Diplomat
Biden – Biden’s Brutal Choice on Afghanistan  Fred Kaplan, Slate
US/Saudi – A Realist Reset for U.S.-Saudi Relations  Richard Haass, Project Syndicate
France – Sarkozy Conviction Rocks French Conservatives Marion Solletty, Politico EU
Syria – Syria Strike Sparks New Debate Over War Powers  Robbie Gramer & Jack Detsch, FP
Germany/Bosnia and Herzegovina – Great power politics in Bosnia: How Berlin can stabilise a dysfunctional state, Majda Ruge, ECFR
Germany/Russia/Energy – Pass the Buck to Moscow: A Possible Solution to the Nord Stream 2 Conundrum, Wolfgang Ischinger, Der Spiegel 
Iran – For Iran, Nuclear Weapons Can Wait, by Hilal Khashan | Geopolitical Futures
US/China – The One-Sided War of Ideas With China  Robert Kaplan, Foreign Policy
US/China – Four Flashpoints in the U.S.-China Cold War  Hal Brands, Bloomberg

Research & Analysis

Technology – Final Report, National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence
EU – European Strategic Autonomy: What It Is, Why We Need It, How to Achieve It, Nathalie Tocci, Istituto Affari Internazionale 

Podcasts

Rixes entre bandes – Les mécaniques de la violence | France Culture

Your Tuesday Briefing

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I’m beginning to believe it.
Clarence Darrow


By Azra Isakovic

Tuesday, March 02

Good morning

Welcome to Your Tuesday Briefing

Books

Médias –L’Information est un bien public – Julia Cagé et Benoît Huet | Editions du Seuil
Censorship – Amazon Gets Into the Censorship Business  Roger Kimball, American Greatness
Censorship – Senators Ask Bezos Why Amazon Pulled Book  James Gordon, Daily Mail
Review – What Freud Got Right  Jess Keiser, The Washington Post

Must-Reads

Biden/MBS – Biden Lets a Saudi Murderer Walk  Nicholas Kristof, New York Times
Biden/MBS – Biden Fails to Make MBS a Pariah  Bobby Ghosh, Bloomberg
Japan – Japan’s Fredo Corleone Moment Is Not Very Cinematic  William Pesek | Nikkei
Italy – Italy and Defense Under Draghi  Karolina Muti & Arturo Varvelli | ECFR
Tech War – Latin America Caught Up in U.S.-China Tech War  Oliver Stuenkel | Foreign Policy
Somalia – The Way Out of Somalia’s Political Impasse  Afyare Abdi Elmi | Al Jazeera
US/China/Asia/Europe – U.S. Enlists Allies to Counter China’s Technology Push, Bob Davis | Wall Street Journal
US/Climate – Clean Resilient States: The Role of U.S. States in Addressing Climate Action, Morgan Higman, Sarah Ladislaw, Nikos Tsafos | CSIS
UK – UK Regulation after Brexit, Hussein Kassim, Sean Ennis, Andrew Jordan, UK in a Changing Europe
Greece/Turkey – Why Greeks and Turks Fight, Costas M. Constantinou | Current History 
China/India – China Seems to Warn India the Lights May Go Out  D. Sanger & E. Schmall, NYT

Research & Analysis

Corruption – Turning the Tide on Dirty Money: Why the World’s Democracies Need a Global Kleptocracy Initiative, Trevor Sutton and Ben Judah, Center for American Progress 
Digital Cyber Threats 2020: A Year in Retrospect | PricewaterhouseCoopers PwC
Digital/Finance – Preconditions for a general-purpose central bank digital currency, Jess Cheng, Angela N. Lawson, and Paul Wong, U.S. Federal Reserve

Podcast

Médias – Comment démocratiser l’information ? | France Culture

Films

Srebrenica – “Quo Vadis, Aida?” by Janine di Giovanni | Foreign Policy

Your Tuesday Briefing

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
Aesop


By Azra Isakovic

Tuesday, February 23

Good morning

Welcome to Your Tuesday Briefing

Books

About : Bland Fanatics: Liberals, Race, and Empire, Pankaj Mishra, by Kanishk Tharoor | The New Republic
History – Can Historians Be Traumatized by History?  | The New Republic

Must-Reads

China –In the new Cold War: Germany wants to be neutral, India is increasingly pro-U.S., the Philippines is trending toward China, and Djibouti is a prized pawn | Bloomberg Opinion
Russia – Putin’s Killers: Russia’s 5 Most Powerful Weapons for Sale  National Interest
Joe Biden – Biden’s brief window to fix the world’s broken institutions, Adam Triggs | East Asia Forum
US/China – The Sino-American War of 2025: A Future History  Michael Auslin, Spectator
UK/Economy – Keeping up appearances: What now for UK services trade? Sam Lowe, Centre for European Reform 
US/Digital – From Washington to Florida, here are Big Tech’s biggest threats from states, Emily Birnbaum, Protocol 
US/China/Vaccine – The U.S.-China Global Vaccine Competition Derek Scissors & Dan Blumenthal | AEI

Research & Analysis

Nato/Proliferation – Reviewing NATO’s Non-proliferation and Disarmament Policy, by Katarzyna Kubiak | IAI  [PDF]
Nato/Digital – Cyber Defence in NATO Countries: Comparing Models, Alessandro Marrone and Ester Sabatino | IAI
OSCE – The Future of the OSCE, | The Wilson Center [PDF]
EU/Iran –Europe’s Defence of the Iran Nuclear Deal, by Riccardo Alcaro | The Intl Spectator || IAI | Taylor & Francis Research Insights
Covid19/Economy –Trade and Global Value Chains at the Time of Covid-19, Anna Maria Pinna & Luca Lodi | The Intl Spectator | IAI | Taylor & Francis Research Insights

 

Podcasts

UE/Iran – Europe’s Defence of the Iran Nuclear Deal: Less than a Success, More than a Failure

Your Thursday Briefing

A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.
Caskie Stinnett


By Azra Isakovic

Thursday, February 11

Good morning

Welcome to Your Thursday Briefing

Books

Michel Foucault“The Last Man Takes LSD – Foucault and the End of Revolution” by Mitchell Dean and Daniel Zamora | Verso Books
Pandémie – Les capitalismes à l’épreuve de la pandémie, par Robert Boyer  | Éditions La Découverte

Must-Reads

Welfare State – « Welfare without the welfare state »: the death of the postwar welfarist consensus, by Anton Jäger & Daniel Zamora | NewStatesman
Nord Stream 2 – The Battle of Nord Stream 2 Narratives  Michael Richter | Riddle
China – The Roots of Cultural Genocide in Xinjiang  Sean Roberts | Foreign Affairs
Pandemic – Merkel’s Pandemic Failure  Markus Feldenkirchen | Der Spiegel
Taiwan –  The State Department’s Bipartisan Taiwan Diplomacy  Jimmy Quinn | Nat’l Review
Trump – Trump’s Worst 2 Military Mistakes for Biden to Fix  Bradley Bowman | Foreign Policy
Technology – Innovation Wars, Christopher Darby and Sarah Sewell | Foreign Affairs
Digital – Competing with China’s Digital Silk Road, Jonathan E. Hillman | Center for Strategic and International Studies
Digital/NATO – Cyber Defence in NATO Countries: Comparing Models, Alessandro Marrone and Ester Sabatino | Istituto Affari Internazionali
Health/Europe – Why Europe Is Falling Behind on Vaccines, Eyck Freymann, Elettra Ardissino, Foreign Policy
US/Yemen – Accomplice to Carnage: How America Enables War in Yemen, Robert Malley and Stephen Pomper, Foreign Affairs
Energy – How tech went big on green energy, Leslie Hook and Dave Lee, Financial Times
Energy – Biden faces climate dilemma over LNG exports to Europe, Dave Keating and Justin Gerdes, Energy Monitor
Climate – Welcome to the Era of Competitive Climate Statecraft, Carolyn Kissane, Foreign Policy
China/Central and Eastern Europe – China’s Eastern Europe Strategy Gets the Cold Shoulder, Stuart Lau, Politico
Black Sea – Strategic sovereignty in the EU’s Southeastern neighborhood: The Black Sea as part of a larger geopolitical region, Stefan Meister | Heinrich Böll Stiftung

Research & Analysis

Proliferation – Strategic Risk Reduction between Nuclear-Weapons Possessors, by  Corentin Brustlein | IFRI 📥 PDF
France/Defense – Rethinking our Defense in the Face of 21st Century Crises, Institut Montaigne 📥 PDF
US/OSCE – United States of America General Elections | OSCE
US/EU/India – Paths to Post-Pandemic Partnership, Mihir Swarup Sharma, German Marshall Fund
EU/India – The EU-India Partnership: Follow-up, Focus, and Free Trade, Maurice Fermont, German Marshall Fund

Podcasts

Covid, saison 3 (3/4) : Etats-Unis : la paupérisation qui vient |  France Culture

Your Thursday Briefing

“The more identities a man has, the more they express the person they conceal.” John le Carré


By Azra Isakovic

February 04, 2021

Good morning

Welcome to Your Thursday Briefing

Books

European Social Democracy From Revolution to Reformism, by Adam Przeworski | Boston Review
European Social Democracy – Market Economy, Market Society by Adam Przeworski. | Phenomenal World

Opinion

Technocratic Despotism –  Cass Sunstein and Adrian Vermeule’s Technocratic Despotism, Jason Blakely | The Chronicle of Higher Education

Must-Reads

#EU🇪🇺 – Europe’s ‘long-Covid’ economic frailty, by Adam Tooze | IPS
Energy – 5 Oil And Gas Predictions For 2021 | OilPrice.com
Italie – An Italian rescue mission for Mario Draghi | Financial Times
Brexit – Brexit Is Probably the United Kingdom’s Death Knell  Brent Peabody, Foreign Policy
UK/EU – Foreign Policy Cooperation: Brexit’s Missing Link, Luigi Scazzieri, Centre for European Reform
EU/Health EU Faces 100 Billion-Euro Price Tag for Bungled Vaccine Push, Alexander Weber, Bloomberg
EU/US – Open strategic autonomy: What’s in a name? Susan Danger, Euractiv
EU/US/China – EU goes soft on China in hopes of a climate ‘partnership’ while the US plays hardball, Karl Mathiesen, Politico
Digital – Advancing Data Governance in the G7, Matthew P. Goodman and Pearl Risberg, CSIS
Eastern Europe – Tackling frozen conflicts in the EU’s own neighbourhood, Bogdan Aurescu, EU Observer

Research & Analysis

Democracy – Global democracy has a very bad year | The Economist Europe/Mobility – European Mobility Atlas 2021: Facts and Figures About Transport and Mobility in Europe, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
Central and Eastern Europe/China – The Chinese Economic Footprint in Central and Eastern Europe: Impact on Energy Transition and Climate, Center for the Study of Democracy
US/Deterrence – Forging 21st-Century Strategic Deterrence, Admiral Charles A. Richard, U.S. Naval Institute
China – Chinese State Capitalism, Jude Blanchette | Hinrich Foundation  📥  PDF
Technology – Digital technology and democratic theory,  | Data & Society 📥 PDF
China –Addressing Forced Labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region | CSIS 📥 PDF
EU/Economy/Energy – The geopolitics of the European Green Deal | Bruegel 📥 PDF

Podcasts

Sahel – «Projet d’expansion» d’al-Qaïda vers le golfe de Guinée avc Alain Antil | RFI

Russie – «La condamnation de Navalny va plutôt encourager un certain nombre de manifestations» avc Florent Parmentier, | RFI

Your Wednesday Briefing

    Without words, without writing and without books there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity.
Hermann Hesse


By Azra Isakovic

February 03, 2021

Good morning

Welcome to Your Wednesday Briefing

Books

Biography books – The Mysterious Life and Death of Robert Maxwell  Duncan Campbell, The Guardian
Studies of Hitler and Stalin –Varieties of Totalitarianism  Peter Kenez, Law & Liberty
Religion/Capitalism – God and Mammon  David Skeel, The Wall Street Journal
Religion/Capitalism – Religion and the Rise of Capitalism, by Benjamin M. Friedman |  Penguin Random House

Must-Reads

Health/Russia –The Sputnik V Vaccine and Russia’s Race to Immunity, Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker
Health/Brazil – The Brazil Variant is Exposing the World’s Vulnerability, James Hamblin, The Atlantic
Nuclear – It’s time to take domestic nuclear terrorism seriously, Jayita Sarkar, The Washington Post
US/Russia/Arms Control – Should U.S. Missile Defenses Be a Part of Arms Control Negotiations With Russia? Steven Pifer, The National Interest
Germany – Russian Pipeline Is Germany’s Greatest Foreign Policy Embarrassment, Mathieu von Rohr, Der Spiegel
Romania/China – Romania issues ‘memorandum’ blocking Chinese firms from public infrastructure projects, Bogdan Neagu, Euractiv
EU/US – Strategic autonomy or strategic alliance? Maria Demertzis, Bruegel
Europe/US/Africa – A Transatlantic Approach to Address Growing Maritime Insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea, Pierre Morcos, CSIS

Research & Analysis

EU – The EU after Brexit: Renewed Debate about Enlargement and Deepening, Barbara Lippert, SWP
Resilience – The Universe of Resilience: : From Physics of Materials Through Psychology to National Security, Oksana Iliuk and Dmitri Teperik, International Centre for Defence and Security
China/Europe –  How China became a power in the Western Balkans, by Vladimir Shopov | ECFR PDF
Energy – Nordic PPAs – Effects on renewable growth and implications for electricity markets | OIES Space – Rethinking Military Roles and Missions in a New Administration by  Todd Harrison | CSIS PDF

Podcasts

Inégalités – Posséder la terre, terreau des inégalités ? | France Culture

Your Tuesday Briefing

“Limitation is essential to authority. A government is legitimate only if it is effectively limited.”

Lord Acton


By Azra Isakovic

February 02, 2021

Good morning

Welcome to Your Tuesday Briefing

Books

À propos de : Comment perdre une guerre, Élie Baranets | CNRS Ed, par T Delamare | La Vie des idées


Surveillance Capitalism – The Coup We Are Not Talking About  Shoshana Zuboff | The New York Times
Review – Napoleon & De Gaulle: Heroes and History, by Daniel J. Mahoney | City Journal
About: Le dossier sauvage, Philippe Artières | Gallimard, by Jean-Baptiste Vuillerod | Books & Ideas

Must-Reads

US/China – How We Lose against China | National Review
US – What those mourning the fragility of American democracy get wrong, Alasdair S. Roberts, The Conversation
US – Joe Biden’s ‘Buy American’ isn’t bad, it’s necessary, Rana Foroohar, Financial Times
US/Europe – Transatlantic relations for the Biden era and beyond, Ian Bond, Centre for European Reform
US/Turkey – A path for Joe Biden to reset US relations with Turkey, Sinan Ulgen, Financial Times
EU/Digital – Europe’s digital economy needs analogue wings to fly, Martin Sandbu, Financial Times
Draw Red Lines and Focus on Xi  Frederick Kempe, Atlantic Council
Taiwan – Taiwan as an Economic Fortress  Huang Tien-lin, Taipei Times
Xi Tells the World What He Really Wants  Stephen Walt, Foreign Policy
Biden’s Nightmare May Be China  Nicholas Kristof, New York Times
Von Der Leyen’s Trail of Disaster  Matthew Lynn, Spectator
Vaccine – Why the European Commission Failed the Vaccine Challenge  G. Rachman, FT
UK/China – The U.K.’s Incoherent China Strategy  David Green, World Politics Review
Myanmar’s Coup – Myanmar’s Coup Shouldn’t Surprise Anyone Salil Tripathi, Foreign Policy
Myanmar’s Coup – Burma’s Coup: What to Watch For  Michael Auslin, National Review
Myanmar’s Coup – A Hero or a Foil? Myanmar’s Leader Ends Up as Neither  Hannah Beech, NYT

Research & Analysis

Environment – The Green Future Index | MIT Technology Review
Nuclear/Europe – Nuclear deterrence in Europe: points of convergence, singularities and prospects for cooperation, Emmanuelle Maitre | FRS
US/China – Inflicting Surprise: Gaining Competitive Advantage in Great Power Conflicts | CSIS
Turkey/Europe – Charting a Way out of Deadlock in Eastern Mediterranean  Galip Dalay, Brookings
UK/US – A Washington Strategy for British Diplomacy  Ben Judah, Policy Exchange

Podcasts

Inégalités – L’invention du bon et du mauvais pauvre Xavier Mauduit | France Culture


Your Friday Briefing

Tout pouvoir est une conspiration permanente.” Honoré de Balzac


By Azra Isakovic

Jan. 29, 2021

Good morning

Welcome to Your Friday Briefing

Books

Climat – « Climat, la démission permanente » par Cyrille Cormier | Editions Utopia | Decitre
Book Review – Last of the Libertines  Theodore Dalrymple, Law & Liberty
Essay – Harold Bloom’s ‘Rage for Reading’  Robert Gottlieb, The New York Times

Must-Reads

US – Biden administration pauses Trump’s foreign weapons sales, Connor O’Brien, Politico 
US/EU/Digital – 5 charts that explain the digital transatlantic relationship, Mark Scott, Politico   
EU/Health – How Europe fell behind on vaccines, Jillian Deutsch and Sarah Wheaton, Politico   
EU/UK/Health – Delays in covid-19 vaccine delivery are causing tempers to flare and timetables to slip, The Economist 
Arms Control – Saving the Open Skies Treaty, Steven Pifer, Brookings 
Turkey/Eastern Mediterranean – Turkey, Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean: Charting a way out of the current deadlock, Galip Dalay, Brookings  
Russia/Foreign Policy – Russian Foreign Policy in 2020, András Rácz (ed.), DGAP  
Germany/Russia/Energy – Nord Stream 2:Sanctions, Skullduggery and Solutions, Alan Riley, CEPA  
Iran Deal – Netanyahu’s Risky Gambit on Iran Deal  Kurtzer, Miller & Simon, Responsible Statecraft 


 

Research & Analysis

Corruption – Corruption Perceptions Index 2020, Transparency International 
Russia/Foreign Policy – Russian Foreign Policy in 2020, András Rácz (ed.), DGAP  
EU – Anti-Money Laundering in the EU, Karel Lannoo and Richard Parlour, CEPS 
China – The Longer Telegram: Toward a New China Strategy  Atlantic Council
China – Myths, Realities of China’s Military-Civil Fusion  Elsa Kania & Lorand Laskai, CNAS 
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Bosnia to war, to Dayton, and to its slow peace, Carl Bildt, ECFR 
Climate/Trade – Toward a Climate-Driven Trade Agenda, Jack Caporal and William Reinsch, CSIS  

Podcast      

Climat – La démission permanente |  France Inter

Your Wednesday Briefing

To study history means submitting to chaos and nevertheless retaining faith in order and meaning.
Hermann Hesse


By Azra Isakovic

Jan. 27, 2021

Good morning

Welcome to Your Wednesday Briefing

Books

Napoleon’s Kindle – See the Miniaturized Traveling Library He Took on Military Campaigns | Open Cultur
Book Review – Counter-Terrorism and the Rule of Law, by Deborah Pearlstein | War on the Rocks
Law’s Wars – The Fate of the Rule of Law in the US ‘War on Terror’ by Richard Abel | Cambridge University Press
Law’s TrialsThe Performance of Legal Institutions in the US ‘War on Terror’ by Richard Abel | Cambridge University Press

Must-Reads

COVID-19 – A Race Between Vaccines and the Virus as Recoveries Diverge, by Gita Gopinath | IMF
US – Our Radicalized Republic, Maggie Koerth and Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux | FiveThirtyEight 
US/EU – Working With the Biden Administration: Opportunities for the EU, Rosa Balfour, et al., Carnegie Europe  
US/EU/China – Making the World Great Again: Europe, the United States, and China, Radek Sikorski | Lisbon Council 
EU/UK/Indo-Pacific – Can the EU and UK Cooperate in the Indo-Pacific, David Hutt | Internationale Politik Quarterly   
Global/Health – The Sting in COVID-19’s Tail, Tarek Ghani | Foreign Affairs  
Middle East/Europe – Arab spring, European winter, H.A. Hellyer | Politico  
Nuclear – Revitalizing nonproliferation cooperation with Russia and China, Robert Einhorn | Brookings  
Nuclear – Extending New START Should Be Just the Beginning, Megan Dubois, Gaurav Kalwani, Pranay Vaddi | Carnegie Endowment

Research & Analysis

US/Technology – Draft Final Report, National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence 
China – A Remarkable Resemblance: Germany from 1900 to 1945 and China today. Time for a NATO for trade? Robert D. Atkinson, International Economy 
Kosovo/Serbia – Relaunching the Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue | International Crisis Group 

Podcasts

US/Russia – Engaging the Evil Empire  War on the Rocks
China vs. Australia – Essential Geopolitics: China vs. Australia  Stratfor Worldview