Trend Lines

This week on Trend Lines, Kevin Rudd, the former prime minister of Australia, joins WPR editor-in-chief Judah Grunstein to discuss the nature of the challenge China poses to the West, the implications of Xi Jinping’s rule, and the future prospects of both China’s rise and America’s global leadership role. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: When It Comes to Soft Power, China Is Already Outpacing the U.S. Beijing Will Come to Regret the End of Hong Kong’s Autonomy As China Rises and U.S. Influence Wanes, Australia Aims for Self-Reliance China’s Coronavirus Outbreak Exposes the Limits of Xi’s Centralized Power Is China’s Repressive Turn Under Xi a Sign of Strength—or Wea

This week on Trend Lines, WPR’s Elliot Waldman is joined by Rebecca Winthrop for a conversation about the changing face of education in the era of COVID-19. She argues that now is the time to “chart a vision for how education can emerge stronger from this global crisis than ever before.” If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: Kenya’s Decision to Cancel Its School Year Will Reverberate Across Africa A New ‘Lockdown Generation’ Is Raising the Risk of Global Upheaval What the Pandemic Looks Like in the World’s ‘Ungoverned Spaces’ Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a freelance journalist and analyst focusing on security and resource politics in Africa. You can

“When life is at its worst,” journalist Dan Gardner argues, “we are at our best.” For this week’s interview on Trend Lines, Gardner joins WPR’s Elliot Waldman to discuss the resilience of human societies and how our penchant for prosocial behavior will help us overcome the coronavirus pandemic. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: Building Trust, Confidence and Collective Action in the Age of COVID-19 A Rough Guide to Getting a COVID-19 Lockdown Right Planning for the World After the Coronavirus Pandemic Will the Model of an Interconnected World Survive the COVID-19 Pandemic? Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a freelance journalist and analyst focusing

This week on Trend Lines, political theorist Adom Getachew joins WPR’s Elliot Waldman to talk about the history of anti-colonial nationalist movements that tried to remake the world in an egalitarian mold, eschewing old concepts of empire and subjugation—and the resonance of their vision today. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: As BLM Goes Global, It’s Building on Centuries of Black Internationalist Struggle Legacies of Colonialism Are Holding Back Racial Justice in Britain and France How Third-Worldism Can Be Reimagined Today Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a freelance journalist and analyst focusing on security and resource politics in Africa. You

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is facing the greatest challenge yet to his rule as pro-democracy demonstrations rock the country. This week on Trend Lines, Candace Rondeaux joins Elliot Waldman to discuss the competition for influence in Belarus, and what the protests mean for its future. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: ‘It’s Not Normal for Belarus.’ Lukashenko Faces Growing Pre-Election Protests Making Sense of the Arrest of Russian Mercenaries in Belarus Is Russia’s Pressure on Belarus Putting It in Play for the West? Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a freelance journalist and analyst focusing on security and resource politics in Afric

The explosive growth of cities worldwide has produced economic gains, but also entails significant risks to health, as we’re seeing now with the coronavirus pandemic. This week on Trend Lines, WPR’s Elliot Waldman is joined by Ronak B. Patel to discuss how cities are changing in the era of COVID-19. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: What the Pandemic Looks Like in the World’s ‘Ungoverned Spaces’ To Save the Economy From COVID-19, Protect Informal Workers Can an Open World Exist After COVID-19? A New ‘Lockdown Generation’ Is Raising the Risk of Global Upheaval Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a freelance journalist and analyst focusing on security an

Over the past few months, the wildly popular video-sharing app TikTok and its Chinese parent company have faced rising suspicions over their alleged ties with the Chinese Communist Party. This week on Trend Lines, WPR’s Elliot Waldman discusses the debate over TikTok with Samantha Hoffman and Fergus Ryan. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: Banning TikTok Would Let China Off the Hook on Tech Reciprocity Overshadowed by a Pandemic, the U.S.-China Tech War Is Heating Up China’s Protectionism Online Is Driving Its Own Decoupling With the U.S. Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a freelance journalist and analyst focusing on security and resource politics in

President Idriss Deby of Chad announced a Cabinet reshuffle earlier this month in preparation to run for president yet again in 2021. For this week’s interview on Trend Lines, Michael Shurkin joins WPR’s Elliot Waldman to discuss Deby’s three-decade reign and Chad’s outsized security role in the Sahel. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: Will Chad’s Deby Suffer the Same Fate as Bashir in Sudan? Al-Qaida and ISIS Turn On Each Other in the Sahel, With Civilians in the Crossfire How Counterinsurgency Campaigns Are Fueling Human Rights Abuses in the Sahel Deby Set to Keep Power in Chad Election, but Discontent Is Growing Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a

In this week’s editors’ discussion on Trend Lines, WPR’s Judah Grunstein, Elliot Waldman and Prachi Vidwans talk about the implications of the European Union’s new budget and coronavirus recovery fund, as well as the Trump administration’s sudden decision to shut down China’s consulate in Houston. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: Is the EU’s COVID-19 Response Losing Central and Eastern Europe to China? The U.S. Can No Longer Ignore or Contain China. What Now? How China Is Quietly Expanding Its Economic Influence in the Gulf In Sri Lanka’s Elections, a Rajapaksa Win Would Seal Democracy’s Fate Don’t Rush to Judge the CIA’s Covert Cyber Offensive Trend Lines is produc

Judges, prosecutors, investigators and other members of Guatemala’s anti-corruption community are facing a concerning rise in verbal attacks and death threats. For this week’s interview on Trend Lines, Adriana Beltran joins WPR’s Elliot Waldman to discuss the backlash to Guatemala’s anti-corruption efforts. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: Guatemala’s Assault on an Anti-Corruption Commission Evokes the Country’s Dark Past Can Guatemala’s Next President Stem the Flow of Migration Out of the Country? Taking Stock of Progress, and Setbacks, in Central America’s Fight Against Corruption El Salvador’s Attorney General Pays a Steep Price for His Anti-Corruption Fight Why

This week, WPR’s Judah Grunstein, Freddy Deknatel and Prachi Vidwans talk about the mysterious series of explosions that have rattled Iran. They also discuss reports that the Trump administration granted the CIA sweeping authorization to conduct offensive cyber operations against U.S. adversaries. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: RIP JCPOA: Why the Iran Nuclear Deal Won’t Be Revived Can New Norms of Behavior Extend the Rules-Based Order Into Cyberspace? A COVID-19 Vaccine Is Still Far Off, but Questions of Fair Distribution Can’t Wait To Save the Economy From COVID-19, Protect Informal Workers Trump Has Exposed the Hollow Vision of an Integrated North America   Tren

For this week’s interview on Trend Lines, WPR’s Elliot Waldman is joined by Sam Roggeveen, director of the International Security program at the Lowy Institute in Australia, for a conversation about the emerging challenges that are shaping Australia’s military and national security posture. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: How Shared Distrust of China Is Fueling Closer India-Australia Relations Why Is China Pressing Indonesia Again Over Its Maritime Claims? Can Morrison Patch Up Australia’s Troubled Ties With China? How Australia’s Constant Leadership Churn Undermines Its Foreign Policy   Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a freelance journalist and

In this week’s editors’ discussion on Trend Lines, WPR’s Judah Grunstein, Freddy Deknatel and Prachi Vidwans talk about the new national security law that China imposed on Hong Kong, and a new proposal for a one-state solution for Israel and Palestine based on equal citizenship rights for all. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: Why China’s Xi Opted for the ‘Nuclear Option’ in Hong Kong ‘The Best Hope We Have.’ The Promise of Protest Movements Going Global Xi’s Boldest Critic Is the Latest Target of China’s Crackdown on Dissent ‘The Path of Negotiations Has Failed.’ Where Annexation Leaves Palestinians What Would a U.S. Response to Russian Bounties in Afghanistan Look

The coronavirus pandemic has created a vexing challenge for democratic societies, as well as for independent election observers. For this week’s interview on Trend Lines, David Carroll joins WPR’s Elliot Waldman to discuss how elections and election observers are adapting to a changed world. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR:   How to Protect Democratic Institutions During the Coronavirus Pandemic Democracy Will Survive the Coronavirus Pandemic, but Not Without a Fight Amid Repression and Scrutiny of the OAS, Bolivia Staggers Toward an Election Rerun As COVID-19 Hits Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi and the Military Seek an Electoral Edge With the U.S. Backsliding, Who Will

President Donald Trump’s new CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media is making sweeping changes at Voice of America and other government-funded news outlets under his control. For this week’s interview on Trend Lines, David Ensor joins WPR’s Elliot Waldman to discuss concerns about the politicization of VOA. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: With the U.S. Backsliding, Who Will Defend Democracy in the World? Under Trump, the U.S. Has Become an Irresponsible Stakeholder The World Is Getting Messier. It’s Not All Trump’s Fault Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a freelance journalist and analyst focusing on security and resource politics in Africa. You ca

In this week’s editors’ discussion, WPR’s Judah Grunstein, Elliot Waldman and Prachi Vidwans talk about the Russian constitutional referendum that could clear the way for President Vladimir Putin to hold on to power until 2036, as well as the nature of Putin’s rule and the regime he has consolidated. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: Why Putin’s Bid to Become President for Life Is No Sure Thing Russia Is Weathering COVID-19, No Thanks to Putin Can the Young Activists of ‘Generation Putin’ Build on a Summer of Protests? COVID-19 Threatens to Derail an Unsteady Democratic Transition in Sudan ‘The Path of Negotiations Has Failed.’ Where Annexation Leaves Palestinians A

Depression, extreme stress and trauma are just a few of the secondary maladies that can flare up during a multi-dimensional crisis like the coronavirus pandemic. For today’s interview on Trend Lines, WPR’s Elliot Waldman is joined by Susan Borja to discuss the potential mental health impacts of COVID-19. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: The Importance of Gender Inclusion in COVID-19 Responses Learning the Value of Solidarity in Coronavirus-Stricken Spain Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Crackdown Is Creating New Coronavirus Hotspots History Foretold the Halting Global Response to COVID-19 Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a freelance journalist and analyst fo

In this week’s editors’ discussion on Trend Lines, WPR’s Judah Grunstein, Freddy Deknatel and Prachi Vidwans talk about the deadly border clash between Indian and Chinese troops in a remote Himalayan mountain pass, and the tension between competition and cooperation in relations between the two Asian giants. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe. Relevant Articles on WPR: Can India and China Stand Down After Their Worst Border Clash in 45 Years? Xi and Modi Trade Confrontation for Comity at Another Informal Summit Why Modi and Xi Made Nice at Asia’s Other Landmark Summit For the U.K. and Ireland, Brexit and COVID-19 Are a Perfect Storm How COVID-19 Could Increase the Risk of War American ‘Battles