The shock effects of the pandemic and the authoritarian threat
15 April, 2020
Six months after the corona virus first appeared, the world economy is entering a deep economic crisis that could result in political power shifts at global level. The absence of leadership in the US and the EU gives China and Russia increased confidence and leeway, according to Torbjörn Becker and co-author Martin Kragh in their latest chronicle published at Utrikesmagasinet.
Globally, the corona crisis is about dealing with two partially related problems. On the one hand, a powerful economic slowdown, which threatens the prosperity of individual countries but also the globalized trading system that all countries depend on. On the other hand, the political shifts that may arise in the wake of the economic crisis, and in turn affect the international order in the future.
Torbjörn Becker and Martin Kragh
Torbjörn Becker (director of SITE) and co-author Martin Kragh (the Head of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs) recently published a chronicle at Utrikesmagasinet – Utrikespolitiska Institutets Nättidning, sharing their reflections and worries about how the absence of leadership in the US and the EU gives China and Russia increased confidence and leeway. Depending on how Sweden and the EU deal with these challenges determines our ability to handle future crises at national level.
Read the rest of the chronicle (in Swedish) at "Pandemins chockeffekter och det auktoritära hotet", Utrikesmagasinet.
