Biden's African Diplomacy Dilemma

A Yoruba priest sits in a temple dedicated to Olokun in Benin City, Nigeria. Olokun is an orisha spirit praised for their ability to give great wealth, health and prosperity to their followers. (Jorge Fernández via Getty Images)

In many parts of Africa, one’s regional, religious, and ethnic identity are more important that one’s identification with any internationally recognized polity. This will prove a challenge for the incoming Biden administration, writes James Barnett for Hudson's Look Ahead Series. Following the 2012 Benghazi attack, restrictions on the movement of U.S. personnel have limited the ability of diplomats to operate outside embassy confines. Likewise, the State Department as a whole is not structured for the type of decentralized diplomacy needed to engage with Africa's powerbrokers outside the central government, be they faith leaders, traditional rulers, or local politicians.

Pentagon Acquisition Chief on
U.S.-China Competition

Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen M. Lord participates in an online summit from the Pentagon Press Briefing Room, Washington, D.C., Nov. 18, 2020. (U.S. Department of Defense)

Tomorrow at 12pm EST, join Rebeccah Heinrichs and U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord for a discussion on the Department of Defense’s efforts to streamline the acquisition and sustainment process of U.S. military systems to address a diverse threat landscape. Ms. Lord will provide insight into the government’s efforts to protect the defense industrial base and remove Chinese microelectronics from supply chains.

Europe's Frugal Four

Heads of the self-styled "frugal" nations (LtoR) Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen meet in Brussels on February 20, 2020, to discuss the EU's next long-term budget. (Virginia Mayo/POOL/AFP)

Portugal’s Socialist Prime Minister António Costa wants to shrink and simplify the European Union, writes Walter Russell Mead in The Wall Street Journal, and has taken aim at the EU’s “Frugal Four”: the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria and Sweden. While these four countries want to limit EU spending and avoid Brussels-funded bailouts, cynics will note here that countries Mr. Costa wishes to reject have another feature in common: They stand between Portugal and money. The Frugal Four aren’t infallible when it comes to policy choices, Mr. Mead notes, but they aren’t betraying Europe when they talk about responsible budgeting. They are trying to save it.

COVID-19 Weighs on American Diets

A driver in a vehicle places his order from a drive-thru lane at a Wendy's fast food restaurant in Alhambra, California on May 5, 2020. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

With vaccines on the way, COVID-19 won’t be a gun to the food industry’s head much longer. But the problems of inadequate access to nutrition, climate change and childhood obesity – all of which implicate Big Food — are still here and must be addressed soon, writes Hank Cardello in Forbes. For those suffering from obesity, COVID-19-related death rates are nearly 50% higher, further reflecting the risks of unhealthy foods and diets.

Hudson's Year-End Celebration

Despite all of the challenges faced by the world in 2020, Hudson Institute has thrived and continued to craft policy that promotes American global leadership and economic ingenuity. Next week, we hope you will join us as Hudson hosts a virtual year-end celebration featuring President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, Senator Tom Cotton, and Representatives Liz Cheney and Seth Moulton. 

BEFORE YOU GO...

French President Emmanuel Macron is pursuing a foreign policy of strategic autonomy with the goal of developing an autonomous European force that would function as a counterbalance to the “Chinese-American duopoly.” At the heart of Macron's maneuvers, Michael Doran and Peter Rough write in Tablet Magazine, is France's campaign against Turkey.