The Year in Politics, with Mariana Mazzucato, Bill Gates, Angela Merkel, and more

A look back at the political issues, risks, and challenges that defined the past 12 months The Sunday Newsletter [View this message in a web browser]( [PS on Sunday]( JANUARY 2, 2022 As 2022 begins, Project Syndicate highlights the political issues, risks, and challenges that defined the past 12 months – and the commentaries that helped readers make sense of them. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has continued to ravage populations worldwide despite early hope offered by vaccines, was top of mind for both distinguished thinkers, such as Joseph E. Stiglitz and Peter Singer, and world leaders, including Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, and Macky Sall. Meanwhile, the intensifying competition between the United States and China has raised questions about how the associated risks can be managed – questions that figures like Eric Schmidt and Richard Haass approach from very different angles. But it is impossible to predict the future of this Sino-American cold war without considering China’s trajectory under President Xi Jinping – which Yuen Yuen Ang, Minxin Pei, and others elucidate – and America’s own political rot, examined by the likes of Sheldon Whitehouse and Elizabeth Drew. Europe is also ailing politically, owing to unresolved tensions over sovereignty and integration, with Josep Borrell, Yanis Varoufakis, and others weighing the issues and proposing an array of remedies. More broadly, many PS contributors, including Francis Fukuyama, Andrés Velasco, and Katharina Pistor, worry about the very future of liberal democracy. America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan seems, in Brahma Chellaney’s view, to herald the end of an era during which encouraging democracy abroad was a pillar of US foreign policy – though, Daron Acemoglu explains, we should not be surprised by the failure of the West’s 20-year state-building effort. No survey of the challenges the world faces heading into the new year can overlook climate change. From Bill Gates’ support for technological solutions to Mariana Mazzucato’s calls for a mission-driven reorientation of public policy, PS contributors offer readers unrivaled analysis of an issue that citizens and policymakers can no longer afford to ignore. Pandemic Politics [COVID-19 and Human Freedom]( [Joseph E. Stiglitz]( attributes America’s high rate of infection to a perverse misinterpretation of individual liberty. [Multilateral Cooperation for Global Recovery]( [Emmanuel Macron]( [Angela Merkel]( [Macky Sall]( [António Guterres]( [Charles Michel]( and [Ursula von der Leyen]( urge a new birth of international collaboration that is as inclusive as it is effective. On Point --------------------------------------------------------------- [Can We End the Pandemic?]( [William A. Haseltine]( provides an overview of what it will take to beat the coronavirus in all of its new variants. [Why Won't Eastern Europeans Get Vaccinated?]( [Kristen Ghodsee]( and [Mitchell A. Orenstein]( argue that low inoculation rates reflect not the legacy of communism, but rather the legacy of its collapse. [Why Vaccination Should be Compulsory]( [Peter Singer]( points to seat-belt laws to show why governments are justified in requiring immunization during a pandemic. [Build Back Equal]( [María Fernanda Espinosa]( highlights the limitations of policies aimed at helping those who were “left behind” by globalization. The New Cold War [The AI Revolution and Strategic Competition with China]( [Eric Schmidt]( explains why the world’s democracies must come together to maintain leadership in this critical domain. [What Could Cause a US-China War?]( [Joseph S. Nye, Jr.]( sees the greatest danger in both sides' misperception and miscalculation of changing power balances. Opinion Has It --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trouble over Taiwan]( In this PS podcast, [Bonnie Glaser]( and host [Elmira Bayrasli]( assess the conflicting pressures that will determine the island’s fate. [The Taiwan Triangle]( [Richard Haass]( explains why the island’s status is a situation that must be managed, not a problem that can be solved. [China’s One-Way Diplomacy]( [Chris Patten]( sees an increasingly dangerous pattern in the communist regime’s approach to other sovereign states. The Xi Factor [Can Xi End China’s Gilded Age?]( [Yuen Yuen Ang]( draws parallels between today’s China and America during its Gilded Age of wealth and corruption. [The Party Is Not Forever]( [Minxin Pei]( offers a historical warning to China’s ruling communists 100 years after the Party's founding. Opinion Has It --------------------------------------------------------------- [The Communist Party of China at 100]( In this PS podcast, [Rana Mitter]( and host [Elmira Bayrasli]( discuss the Party’s longevity in power and its future plans and prospects. [The Economic Fundamentals of Chinese Communism’s Successes and Failures]( [Nancy Qian]( says China's ruling party must absorb a crucial lesson as it enters its second century. [Xi’s Backward Odyssey]( [Joschka Fischer]( considers the implications of China’s looming return to one-man absolutist rule. America’s Political Rot [The Big Lie and Its Consequences]( [Elizabeth Drew]( sees the Republican Party's denial of electoral reality as a historic threat to the US constitution. [The Dark-Money Tipping Point]( [Sheldon Whitehouse]( and [Hank Johnson]( warn that a little-noticed case before the Supreme Court could be a coup for powerful corporate interests. On Point --------------------------------------------------------------- [America’s Lost World]( [Leonard Bernardo]( and [Ivan Krastev]( review two recent books examining the country's post-war cultural boom and bust. [America’s Republicans Are Killing Their Voters]( [Jeffrey Frankel]( uses voting patterns to show that the link between vaccination and reduced mortality is more than a correlation. [Ten Hours that Shook America]( [Nina L. Khrushcheva]( reflects on the shocking, but predictable, insurrection by right-wing fanatics at the US Capitol. [America's Return to Realism]( [Eric Posner]( says that President Joe Biden has made it plain that human rights will no longer drive US foreign policy. [PS. Save 50% on a new subscription with the code HOLIDAY2021]( Europe Faces the Future [A Strategic Compass for Europe]( [Josep Borrell]( outlines a new framework for bolstering the European Union's security and defense capabilities. [France’s Culture War Intensifies]( [Brigitte Granville]( thinks Napoleon Bonaparte's divisive legacy holds the key to President Emmanuel Macron's political future. On Point --------------------------------------------------------------- [What Europe Must Do]( [Sigmar Gabriel]( outlines a strategy for preserving the bloc's sovereignty and security in a Sino-American century. [Europe’s Latest Humiliation]( [Yanis Varoufakis]( blames the continent's own leaders for the European Union's latest humiliation by a US administration. [The Drums of War in Taiwan and Ukraine]( [Carl Bildt]( thinks Chinese and Russian saber-rattling should be viewed as part of a broader strategic threat. Democracy in Peril [Pandemics and Political Performance]( [Francis Fukuyama]( and [Luis Felipe López-Calva]( highlight the link between pandemic performance and democratic recession. [The Pandora Papers and the Threat to Democracy]( [Katharina Pistor]( considers the implications of new revelations into the old ways that the rich hide their wealth. On Point --------------------------------------------------------------- [What's Behind the “Crisis of Democracy”?]( [Jan-Werner Mueller]( reviews three books that each offer a sorely needed institutional, rather than people-based, analysis. [The Internet Versus Democracy]( [Stephen S. Roach]( interrogates the distinction between US-style cyber-libertarianism and Chinese-style digital surveillance. [Why Has Chile Embraced the Extremes?]( [Andrés Velasco]( blames the mistakes of center-left leaders for the polarized nature of the country’s presidential election. [Building a New Elite]( [Ngaire Woods]( explains how countries should train, recruit, and retain a diverse, high-quality public administration. Growing Dangers in the Greater Middle East [Pax Americana Died in Kabul]( [Brahma Chellaney]( notes that Afghanistan represents the second time in two years that the US has betrayed an ally under siege. [Why Nation-Building Failed in Afghanistan]( [Daron Acemoglu]( explains why the West's top-down approach to establishing state institutions was bound to end in tears. Opinion Has it --------------------------------------------------------------- [America’s Afghan Debacle]( In this PS podcast, [Annie Pforzheimer]( and host [Elmira Bayrasli]( assess the recent US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the country’s prospects under Taliban rule. [Pakistan’s Taliban Monster]( [Shashi Tharoor]( warns that the country’s support for a Taliban restoration in Afghanistan could embolden domestic militants. [The End of Israel’s Illusion]( [Shlomo Ben-Ami]( explains why the sudden eruption of Palestinian resistance caught a complacent nation off guard. The Climate Challenge [Avoiding a Climate Lockdown]( [Mariana Mazzucato]( sees no alternative to a radical overhaul of corporate governance, finance, policy, and energy systems. [A Global Green Deal]( [Ursula von der Leyen]( and [Werner Hoyer]( offer a blueprint for how the European Union can help the rest of the world achieve carbon neutrality. On Point --------------------------------------------------------------- [No Time to Waste]( [Bill Gates]( is interviewed by [Connie Hedegaard]( about what needs to happen to mitigate the planet's climate crisis before it's too late. [Africa Cannot Confront Climate Change Alone]( [Kristalina Georgieva]( and [Félix Tshisekedi]( explain how the international community can do more to support mitigation and adaptation efforts. [The American Climate Consensus]( [Laura Tyson]( and [Lenny Mendonca]( show that the electorate is more aligned behind green policies than is commonly assumed. [PS Events: Generation Green. 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