[2006alum]

Note that the divisions aren't just domestic. I thought this excerpt from this Saturday Essay in the Wall Street Journal by their chief Foreign Affairs correspondent was quite striking (and includes a quote from Stanford's Larry Diamond at the end):

All of this is happening at a time when the public health emergency is only beginning to morph into an economic calamity that may rival the Great Depression in pain—and in consequences for the democratic order and international peace. “This is a crisis like no other,” said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. “Never in the history of the IMF have we witnessed the world economy coming to a standstill.” In its latest forecast, the IMF predicts that the American economy will shrink by 5.9% this year and the economies of the 19 EU nations sharing the euro by 7.5%.

Amid this economic meltdown, the absence of American political leadership has been conspicuous—a shock to a world accustomed to having Washington lead in global crises. In Italy and Europe, “the United States is not even part of the debate these days,” said Nathalie Tocci, director of the Institute of International Affairs in Rome and a former European Commission foreign policy adviser. “It’s off the map.”

Instead, attention has turned to China, which has rushed planeloads of supplies to distressed countries and promised recovery aid. Beijing’s newfound influence won’t necessarily last. Europeans and others won’t quickly forget about the origins of the virus that has upended their nations. Yet for now, China is racking up victories. This month, it secured one of five seats on the body that makes appointments to the U.N. Human Rights Council, gaining a powerful tool to shape the global human rights discourse.

“If we don’t get our act together, by the time we return to something close to normal, it will not be the status quo ante in terms of freedom in the world,” cautioned Larry Diamond, a scholar of democracy at Stanford University. “It will be a dramatically diminished world.”

[2006alum]

Note that the divisions aren't just domestic. I thought this excerpt from this Saturday Essay in the Wall Street Journal by their chief Foreign Affairs correspondent was quite striking (and includes a quote from Stanford's Larry Diamond at the end):

All of this is happening at a time when the public health emergency is only beginning to morph into an economic calamity that may rival the Great Depression in pain—and in consequences for the democratic order and international peace. “This is a crisis like no other,” said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. “Never in the history of the IMF have we witnessed the world economy coming to a standstill.” In its latest forecast, the IMF predicts that the American economy will shrink by 5.9% this year and the economies of the 19 EU nations sharing the euro by 7.5%.

Amid this economic meltdown, the absence of American political leadership has been conspicuous—a shock to a world accustomed to having Washington lead in global crises. In Italy and Europe, “the United States is not even part of the debate these days,” said Nathalie Tocci, director of the Institute of International Affairs in Rome and a former European Commission foreign policy adviser. “It’s off the map.”

Instead, attention has turned to China, which has rushed planeloads of supplies to distressed countries and promised recovery aid. Beijing’s newfound influence won’t necessarily last. Europeans and others won’t quickly forget about the origins of the virus that has upended their nations. Yet for now, China is racking up victories. This month, it secured one of five seats on the body that makes appointments to the U.N. Human Rights Council, gaining a powerful tool to shape the global human rights discourse.

“If we don’t get our act together, by the time we return to something close to normal, it will not be the status quo ante in terms of freedom in the world,” cautioned Larry Diamond, a scholar of democracy at Stanford University. “It will be a dramatically diminished world.”