The Issue In late 2019, the novel coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China. It is generally agreed that it originated from animal consumption in a market. Increased human interaction with wildlife—be it through the destruction of habitats, the consumption of animals, or other means—increases exposure to diseases, and 58 percent of all pandemics are zoonotic in origin, transmitted through an …
Continue reading Post-pandemic Natural Resource Management in the Indo-Pacific
This is a special Spanish-language episode of 35 West hosted by Dan Runde, Senior Vice President and the Director of the CSIS Americas Program. Dan sits down with María Eugenia Vidal, the former Governor of the Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. They discuss how she got her start in politics, as well as key policy …
Continue reading Reducing Crime and Poverty: A Conversation with María Eugenia Vidal
In this episode of Building the Future, Joshua Eisenman, author of Red China’s Green Revolution and Assistant Professor at the Keogh School of Global Affairs at Notre Dame, sits down with Dan Runde to talk about the specifics of China’s development narrative, and how the country leverages this narrative to advance its strategic objectives in the rest …
Continue reading Foreign-Focused Propaganda: China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Historically, creative industries have been more resilient to economic shocks than other sectors of the global economy. In the face of the 2008 financial crisis, global trade declined by 12 percent, yet trade in creative goods and services continued to grow. The Covid-19 epidemic is no exception when it comes to the recovery of the …
Continue reading Creative Economies in the Indo-Pacific and Covid-19
The World Bank’s “Doing Business” report is arguably one of the most impactful publications in global development over the last 20 years, but the United States needs to lead an effort to fix and protect the underlying indicators. “Doing Business” plays a significant role in driving reform that generates economic growth and entrepreneurial incentive around …
Continue reading Don’t throw the ‘Doing Business’ baby out with the bath water
The Issue In recent years, democracy has been under siege as its global appeal has waned, and authoritarian coercion and pressure have risen. The Covid-19 global pandemic will become yet another vehicle for great power competitors, such as China, to further exacerbate existing democratic backsliding, corruption, and disinformation. The Indo-Pacific region is important to U.S. interests and …
Covid-19 has exacerbated preexisting disparities in rural economies in terms of jobs, poverty levels, access to markets and finance, infrastructure and connectivity, education quality, and healthcare provisions. Rural economies have the potential to create meaningful economic opportunities in the future, yet rural development needs to go beyond the notion of improving agricultural productivity; it must …
Continue reading How Impact Investments Can Strengthen Rural Economies in the Age of Covid-19
In this episode of Building the Future, Dan Runde is joined once again by Dr. Jonathan Ward, author of China’s Vision for the World, to discuss how China’s relationship with the rest of the world has changed in the last 18 months. This time around, the pair analyze the growing recognition of China’s ambitions in …
Continue reading A Moment of Global Adjustment: China’s Ambitions in the Wake of Covid-19
At the time of publishing this document, the coronavirus pandemic (or Covid-19) has claimed nearly 900,000 lives and destroyed the livelihoods of several millions of people around the world. Given the contagious nature of this disease, it was not too long before the deadly public health crisis led to a devastating economic turmoil. The impending …
Ambassador Nestor Forster Jr., Ambassador of Brazil to the U.S., sits down with Dan Runde to discuss the history of the U.S.-Brazil relationship and avenues for potential future collaboration. They address environmental conservation and protection, space collaboration, and the budding Brazilian creative economy. The Ambassador and Dan also discuss Covid-19 and how the pandemic has …
Continue reading Brazil, Bolsonaro and Bossa Nova: A Conversation with Ambassador Nestor Forster Jr.
Daniel Runde 