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September 13, 2024

Wilson Weekly

The Sick Man of Eurasia

“Kursk serves as a sacred place in Soviet military folklore where the Red Army achieved one of its most decisive and glorious victories in World War II. Today Kursk stands as symbol of a military retreat and incompetence, exposing all the weaknesses that now entangle Russia in this war of its own choosing. With deliberate comparison to the Ottoman empire, Russia now represents the sick man of Eurasia.” -William Pomeranz

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Event

The Role of China in Africa's Just Energy Transition

Chinese mineral mining operations in many African countries are facing intense scrutiny over their environmental and human rights impacts. At the same time, China’s continued financing of off-grid coal-fired plants in these countries is further complicating the continent’s shift to clean energy. Lawyers who have been working to integrate environmental justice in Chinese overseas investments share their stories.

WATCH

Stubborn Things

Fallen From the Front Page: Plight of Tibetans

If things continue at their current pace, Chinese authorities will have forcibly uprooted and relocated approximately 500 Tibetan villages (including more than 550,000 individuals) by the end of 2025. Read more from Amb. Mark A. Green in this week’s Stubborn Thing blog.

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Summer 2024

The Workforce of the Future

In the coming decades, populations will shrink in regions that for the past half century have provided workers who have fueled the greatest spurt of global economic growth, technical innovation, and prosperity known to humankind. Rapid drops are expected in Asia and Latin America, while declines already underway in North America and Europe will persist. Building a competitive workforce is vital for nations everywhere.

LEARN MORE

Africa Up Close

Climate Security in South Sudan: A Conversation with Ratia Tekenet

“We have flooding on one side and drought on the other side. So, some states are severely impacted by flooding and other states by drought. And I can guarantee you that at the end of the year, by December, we’ll start talking about drought in some of those places.” - Ratia Tekenet, Climate Security Expert with the UN Mission in South Sudan

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Article

Challenges Facing France’s New Prime Minister, Michel Barnier

“After nearly two months of political paralysis, President Emmanuel Macron has appointed the veteran conservative politician Michel Barnier as France’s new prime minister to steer the country out of one of the worst political crises in the 66-year history of the Fifth Republic... With the left vowing to bring Barnier down, his survival in office will depend on his ability to convince the National Front not to exercise its power of veto over his government.” -William Drozdiak

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Threat Multiplier: Climate Change and National Security 

In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Sherri Goodman, a Senior Fellow with the Polar Institute and Environmental Change & Security Program.  She discusses her new book, “Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security.” The book “takes us onto the battlefield and inside the Pentagon to show how the US military is confronting the biggest security risk in global history: climate change.”

Threat Multiplier: Climate Change and National Security

Upcoming Events

Cyprus Banks on the Frontline of Sanctions Compliance

Monday, September 16 // 11:00 am – 12:00 pm ET

Keeping the Lights On: The Battle for the Ukrainian Grid

Tuesday, September 17 // 10:00-11 am ET

Securing Africa’s Critical Mineral Wealth: A Role for Sovereign Wealth Funds

Tuesday, September 17 // 10:00-11:30 am ET

Uruguay Goes to the Polls

Thursday, September 19 // 10:00-11 am ET

Wilson in the News

“It’s Just Business:” Forced Migration through the Darién Gap (National Interest)

“What I took away from the trip and my conversations there is that if we are ever going to tackle the tragedy of forced migration in the Americas, we must confront what these families are forced to pay and who is taking their money.” -Amb. Mark A. Green

Letters to the Next President (Foreign Policy)

“The United States may lead in terms of its competition with China and its leadership in artificial intelligence, among many other areas of knowledge and expertise. But the traditional role that the West, and the United States in particular, has played is changing.” -Baroness Catherine Ashton

Can Muhammad Yunus Support Rohingya Refugees? (Foreign Policy)

The interim leader of Bangladesh has pledged to fast-track third-country resettlement amid intensifying conflict in Myanmar. Learn more in this week’s South Asia Brief with Michael Kugelman.

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