Building the Post-Pandemic World
The “West”— the idea, not the place—remains the most visionary, powerful, resourceful, inspiring, and sustainable hope for humanity. Our leaders must marshal these strengths now to build a post-pandemic world that will benefit future generations.
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Coordinate Western Policies to Reform Failing Global Institutions
While the coronavirus crisis has shown that institutions linking free nations need to be reinforced, it has also highlighted that many global institutions are ineffective or failing, often due to the influence of authoritarian states. The world’s free nations need to coordinate policies to drive reform of these institutions and insist that they live up to their responsibilities. Having Russia on the UN Human Rights Council, or China taking advantage of rules under the World Trade Organization, or the World Health Organization giving political and bureaucratic cover to China’s lack of cooperation in investigating, reporting and combating the coronavirus—all need to be reviewed and addressed.
There is no magic formula for building the post-coronavirus world. Many initiatives will run aground. But now is the time for free nations to think boldly and seek to overcome past barriers. If we do not, then others who do not share our values and interests surely will.
James Jay Carafano heads The Heritage Foundation’s Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy. A former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Kurt Volker has held a variety of diplomatic posts, served as founding executive director of the McCain Institute for International Leadership, and is currently Senior International Advisor at BGR Group.
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