Pregnant women await coronavirus testing in Srinagar. (Photo by Tauseef Mustafa/AFP via Getty Images)

COVID-19 and the Shifting Geopolitics of a Global Shutdown

As countries and some states begin to re-open their economies and lift lockdowns, policymakers across the world are grappling with geopolitical changes accelerated by the pandemic.

Hudson has hosted ambassadors, special envoys, and top experts to discuss the immediate and indirect effects of COVID-19 on the world order, from the impact on Brexit, to escalating tensions in Venezuela, to the impact of America’s foreign aid policy. See below for a few key highlights on the new geopolitics of the global shutdown.

In conversation with Ben Judah, U.K. Ambassador to the U.S. Karen Pierce offered her perspective on how Britain’s relationship with the world continues to change in light of COVID-19:

"We were a global power before we joined the European Union. And now, one of the new elements is that we're now the sixth-largest economy in the world and despite COVID-19, the fundamentals of that aren't going to change. We also are a major aid donor. We spend 0.7% of GDP on official development assistance, one of the very few top tier economies to do so. We are trying to be what the foreign secretary calls an active force for good in the world."

During an event hosted by Heather Nauert and Blaise Misztal on the global state of democracy, International Republican Institute President Daniel Twining discussed how COVID-19 is exacerbating long existing weaknesses in authoritarian regimes:

"Many authoritarian societies were terribly placed even coming into the pandemic. Think about Venezuela and the human misery and desperation before coronavirus and then what this terrible pandemic is doing to further fracture that society. Politics is very much part of this. [Authoritarian regimes are using COVID-19 as cover] to persecute political opponents, to spread disinformation that weakens the West. There are lots of political agendas at work here. We also see heartening stories of citizen-led civic responses. We see lots of democracies where strong institutions are part of the solution, not part of the problem."

During an event hosted by Patrick Cronin, 38 North co-founder Jenny Town discussed how North Korea's secretive government and state-controlled media are a recipe for disaster during a domestic emergency in North Korea—as underscored by rumors surrounding Kim Jong Un's recent disappearance amid the pandemic:

"The regime has complete control over mass media and the country as well, so they can control the narrative. They also can control what information gets out to the people, but it also means that the people are unlikely to know what's happening in real time in the country if something does happen, and there is rising instability. But more importantly, we won't necessarily know in real time either. And that's a huge problem when you're dealing with such a complex issue and the stakes are so high."

As coronavirus hits developing and cash-limited countries, Millennium Challenge Corporation CEO Sean Cairncross discussed with Nadia Schadlow how U.S. aid agencies continue their work to reduce poverty through economic growth:

"The Chinese Belt and Road model is driven on debt dependency. It is not something that creates wealth and opportunity. What we offer is sustainable growth, working with a partner country to capacity build on the ground, to design projects that will be lasting and that have buy-in from every different sector of society. [One instance] is the work we've done on women's economic empowerment, in tandem with the Trump administration's WGDP initiative. Morocco is a great example of that. We have worked to foster a climate that includes women in land access and inheritance rights." 

As the coronavirus compounds existing regional problems, Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams joined Heather Nauert to discuss how the U.S. ensures that sanctions do not block humanitarian aid:

"The regime knows that, because throughout last year, they were buying food in the United States. They know they can buy all the food they want in the United States. [Sometimes a] company is reluctant because of sanctions or the bank doing the transaction. We say [to Venezuela], 'Tell us. Tell us.' We can ask the Treasury Department to give them a comfort letter or sometimes you just call the bank and say, 'This is the Treasury Department. Don't worry, do it.' Not once have they been able to give us a transaction where our sanctions actually blocked it. We're still waiting."

Quotes have been edited for length and clarity

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The Coronavirus Timeline

As the Chinese Communist Party and their accomplices at the WHO continue to mislead the world about the origin and spread of the coronavirus, our Coronavirus Timeline has become a resource for lawmakers and thinkers in Washington and around the world. 

LISTEN: Rebeccah Heinrichs joined Newt Gingrich on his podcast to discuss the timeline and the CCP misinformation campaign.

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