JOHN NIGHSWANDER, VIENNA Americans and Europeans both concluded they were handling the virus more successfully than their counterparts across the Atlantic. Both attributed this to their superior social systems. Both were wrong.
VIVEK Y. KELKAR, MUMBAI China is putting its cards on the table: It’s the pivot of the Pacific in trade, technology, and information networks. It sees neither India nor Japan as impediments. Xi has presented Biden with a fait accompli: China is now the region’s hegemon.
CLAIRE BERLINSKI, PARIS Trump’s supporters are the only people in the world who don’t realize the gravity of the President’s condition—and how much danger we’re in because of it. The rest of the world can see clearly that no one is in charge. No one could be in charge. Why wouldn’t China invade Taiwan right now?
CLAIRE BERLINSKI, PARIS One of the United States’ two major political parties has replaced its quadrennial exercise in democratic decision making with a statement of the Führerprinzip. It represents a rejection of democratic procedures, norms, and principles. But it represents a rejection of something more: the written word.
CLAIRE BERLINSKI, PARIS Whatever the cause of hyperpartisanship, it’s a global phenomenon and a deadly dangerous harbinger of total democratic breakdown.
CLAIRE BERLINSKI, PARIS We are no longer competent enough to pull off an election—or manage our nuclear stockpile. Why has the US become an incompetent nation? The reasons go far beyond partisanship.