foreignpolicy--2020-06-13--The Future of Travel After the Coronavirus Pandemic

Grounded for many months , airlines are beefing up their summer schedules—though the number of flights will be a fraction of their pre-pandemic frequency .
Airports are still mostly ghost towns ( some have even been taken over by wildlife ) , and international long-distance travel is all but dead .
Around the globe , the collapse of the tourist economy has bankrupted hotels , restaurants , bus operators , and car rental agencies—and thrown an estimated 100 million people out of work .
With uncertainty and fear hanging over traveling , no one knows how quickly tourism and business @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still fly as much , and what the travel experience will look like once new health security measures are in place .
One thing is certain : Until then , there will be many more canceled vacations , business trips , weekend getaways , and family reunions .
To look beyond the summer and help us think about how the pandemic will permanently change the way we travel , Foreign Policy asked seven prominent experts to look into their crystal balls .
The Collapse in Travel Will Bring Long-Term Changes by James Crabtree @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore and the author of The Billionaire Raj .
Just as mass unemployment leaves indelible scars on labor markets , so the current global travel collapse will bring long-term changes to patterns of international movement for both business and pleasure.Countries with strong pandemic records will deploy them as tourism marketing strategies : Discover Taiwan !
Airlines and hoteliers hope nascent “ travel bubbles ” —small groups of countries reopening borders only among themselves—and “ green lanes ” for pre-screened travelers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to COVID-19 , will allow a gradual re-opening .
They also hope that roughly normal travel will then resume next year .
More likely is that a new system of interlocking safe zones will operate for the foreseeable future , or at least until a vaccine is widely deployed .
Travel will normalize more quickly in safe zones that coped well with COVID-19 , such as between South Korea and China , or between Germany and Greece .
But in poorer developing countries struggling to manage the pandemic , such as India or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slow .
All this will change the structure of future global travel .
Many will opt not to move around at all , especially the elderly .
Tourists who experiment with new locations in their safe zones or home countries will stick to new habits .
Countries with strong pandemic records will deploy them as tourism marketing strategies—discover Taiwan !
Much the same will be true for business , where ease of travel and a new sense of common destiny within each safe zone will restructure investment along epidemiological lines .
The Pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Vivek Wadhwa , co-author of From Incremental to Exponential : How Large Companies Can See the Future and Rethink Innovation , to be published in September .
Over the past month , I ’ ve spent time with more CEOs than I would meet in a year .
They were relaxed , engaged , and attentive .
We could brainstorm on ideas for them to reinvent their companies without having gatekeepers or naysayers torpedo the discussions .
These were the most productive talks I ’ ve had with C-level executives—and as you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done from the comfort of our homes.Our business meetings , family vacations , and leisure activities will increasingly move into virtual worlds .
Two months ago , it would have been inconceivable to be meeting over Skype or Zoom ; now it is the norm .
The pandemic caused us to fast-forward ten years into the future and there is no turning back .
This is the way a lot of business communications will stay .
We may not realize it , but the videoconferencing technologies we are using are right out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Jetsons ?
We now have the videophones that George and Judy used .
The next leap forward will come from virtual reality , which is advancing at breakneck speed and will take us by surprise .
Our business meetings , family vacations , and leisure activities will increasingly move into virtual worlds .
A trip to Tahiti or Mars , perhaps ?
The holodecks from Star Trek are on their way .
Travel Could Become Unaffordable for Many by Elizabeth Becker , the author of Overbooked : The Exploding Business of Travel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world went from over-tourism to no tourism .
Since then , locals have seen how their lives have improved without those insane crowds : clear skies with vistas stretching for miles , a drastic reduction of litter and waste , clean shorelines and canals , and a return of wildlife.Whatever our income level , travel will take a greater slice of our disposable income .
But business after business went broke without those tourists , revealing how much the global economy depends on non-stop travel .
The economic devastation will mean far @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Whatever our income level , travel will take a greater slice of our disposable income .
So be prepared for two dramatically different trends .
Some national and local governments will redesign their tourism strategies to keep down crowds , keep more money in the local economy , and enforce local regulations including those protecting the environment .
Many health protocols will become permanent .
Other governments will compete for the shrinking tourist dollar by racing to the bottom , allowing the travel industry to regulate itself , using deep discounts to fill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Smart travelers will trust places with good governance and health systems .
They will take fewer trips and stay longer .
They will see this pandemic as a forecast of what ’ s to come from the climate crisis .
They will act like responsible citizens as well as passionate travelers .
The Freedom to Travel Is Vital to the Post-Pandemic Recovery by Alexandre de Juniac , the director-general of the International Air Transport Association ( IATA ) and a former CEO of Air France-KLM .
It ’ s too early for long-term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ return to the skies , they will find measures that have become commonplace adapted to flying : reduced personal contact , enhanced sanitization , temperature checks , and social distancing .
And where sufficient distance isn ’ t possible—onboard aircraft or in airports—masks will be required.Measures that have become commonplace will be adapted to flying : reduced personal contact , enhanced sanitization , temperature checks , and social distancing .
Within days of 9/11—the last great inflection point for aviation—flying resumed securely .
But two decades later , we are still ironing out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ security procedures .
This time , months of being mostly grounded have given the airline industry more time to plan and prepare .
With the support of IATA and others , the International Civil Aviation Organization developed a global restart plan to keep people safe when traveling .
Restart measures will be bearable for those who need to travel , with universal implementation the priority .
It will give governments and travelers the confidence that the system has strong biosafety protections .
And it should give regulators the confidence to remove or adjust @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change and technology advances .
The freedom to travel will be vital to the post-pandemic recovery .
My hope is that we will come out of the crisis with a better passenger experience by moving people through airports more efficiently and increasing confidence in health safety .
I am optimistic that this will be a winning result for travelers , governments , the airline industry , and the economy .
We Forgot How Fundamental Travel Was to Modern Life by James Fallows , a staff writer for The Atlantic and the co-author , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America .
Because the process of travel was so routine and often so aggravating , people of the pre-pandemic era rarely concentrated on how fundamental that process—high-volume , high-speed , relatively low-cost human movement—was to the very idea of being modern.What might be lost with a long interruption in easy-connectedness is only now becoming evident .
Students took it for granted that they could aspire to an academic program in a different region , country , or continent—and still go back to visit their families @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or left their countries for a few years of work or adventure , knew that their homeland was still in relatively quick reach .
Children saw their grandparents up close .
Families could gather for weddings , births , graduations , funerals .
Businesspeople from remote locations went to conventions and conferences to make deals and coordinate plans .
The world ’ s cultural and touristic attractions became open to people from all corners of the globe .
For Americans , air travel and international exposure were once such rarities that the now-absurd-sounding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something when it was coined in the 1950s .
The commodification of travel allowed people of ordinary means to compose a “ bucket list ” of sights they wanted to see—and to assume they ’ d be able to .
Before the lockdown , it was easy to recite all the harm mass travel had done , from the throngs overwhelming Venice or Machu Picchu to the standardization of hotel-and-airport life worldwide .
What might be lost with a long interruption in easy-connectedness is only now becoming evident .
There Will Be a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the author of four books , including the bestselling travel-philosophy primer Vagabonding : An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel .
One startling detail about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is that areas with concentrated outbreaks are called hot spots—which is exactly the same phrase the commercial travel industry has used to denote popular and fashionable destinations .
This uncomfortable parallel reminds us that travel , in our globalized era , enabled the spread of the virus in a historically unprecedented way.I doubt the desire to go to so-called hot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ next wave of travel .
For many people , travel is synonymous with vacations—and that ’ s fine , but somehow I don ’ t see vacationers as the model for post-pandemic travel .
A constant source of travel headlines in recent years has been tourist overcrowding in places such as Venice and Bali , and I doubt the desire to go to so-called hot spots or top-ten-list destinations will drive the next wave of travel .
It will be the desire simply to go , and to figure things out along the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adventure , not package tour .
No doubt the new world of travel will see a boom in domestic travel .
Many will go by van or recreational vehicle—and that makes sense , given that one is a lot more self-contained when one travels that way .
International travel will also return—and it will be pioneered not just by savvy backpackers and independent travelers going on their own pace and seeing how the journey plays out , but also by working-class folks around the world seeking out family back home , whether that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or Poland .
We Will Keep Traveling Because Curiosity Can not Be Expunged by Pico Iyer , the author of 15 books that have been translated into 23 languages , most recently Autumn Light and A Beginner ’ s Guide to Japan .
For all our good intentions , we are creatures of habit—and of increasingly diminished attention spans .
And COVD-19 has reminded us how little we can confidently say about tomorrow , or even tonight .
But my suspicion is that , for better and worse , we will be traveling—and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as we did in June 2019.For better and worse , we will be traveling in June 2021 much as we did in June 2019 .
To some extent , we have to .
I was obliged to take three flights in the middle of the pandemic , from Osaka to Santa Barbara , where my 88 year-old mother had just emerged from hospital .
A few weeks earlier , I had to fly from Japan to California—for a day—for a public event to which I had long been contractually committed .
It would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we all traveled less .
And anxiety about travel will be greater next season , and prices higher .
But globalism , having spread from person to person for so long , can not be reversed .
Cultural curiosity can not be expunged .
My trips to North Korea have shown me what happens when people can not get to see the world first-hand .

James Fallows, Vivek Wadhwa, Pico Iyer, Rolf Potts, Elizabeth Becker, James Crabtree and Alexandre de Juniac

As we enter the first summer of this new era of pandemics, a tenuous easing of travel restrictions has begun. This month, the countries of the European Union will reopen their internal borders, and they plan to allow travel from outside the block some time in July. Singapore and China have begun permitting essential travel between them, but only for passengers who test negative for the coronavirus, use a contact-tracing app, and don’t deviate from their itinerary. Iceland will allow tourists, but it plans to test them for the virus at the airport.
As we enter the first summer of this new era of pandemics, a tenuous easing of travel restrictions has begun. This month, the countries of the European Union will reopen their internal borders, and they plan to allow travel from outside the block some time in July. Singapore and China have begun permitting essential travel between them, but only for passengers who test negative for the coronavirus, use a contact-tracing app, and don’t deviate from their itinerary. Iceland will allow tourists, but it plans to test them for the virus at the airport.
Grounded for many months, airlines are beefing up their summer schedules—though the number of flights will be a fraction of their pre-pandemic frequency. Airports are still mostly ghost towns (some have even been taken over by wildlife), and international long-distance travel is all but dead. Around the globe, the collapse of the tourist economy has bankrupted hotels, restaurants, bus operators, and car rental agencies—and thrown an estimated 100 million people out of work.
With uncertainty and fear hanging over traveling, no one knows how quickly tourism and business travel will recover, whether we will still fly as much, and what the travel experience will look like once new health security measures are in place. One thing is certain: Until then, there will be many more canceled vacations, business trips, weekend getaways, and family reunions.
To look beyond the summer and help us think about how the pandemic will permanently change the way we travel, Foreign Policy asked seven prominent experts to look into their crystal balls.—Stefan Theil, deputy editor
The Collapse in Travel Will Bring Long-Term Changes
By James Crabtree, associate professor in practice at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore and the author of The Billionaire Raj
Just as mass unemployment leaves indelible scars on labor markets, so the current global travel collapse will bring long-term changes to patterns of international movement for both business and pleasure.Countries with strong pandemic records will deploy them as tourism marketing strategies: Discover Taiwan!
Airlines and hoteliers hope nascent “travel bubbles”—small groups of countries reopening borders only among themselves—and “green lanes” for pre-screened travelers, such as those with antibodies showing immunity to COVID-19, will allow a gradual re-opening. They also hope that roughly normal travel will then resume next year. More likely is that a new system of interlocking safe zones will operate for the foreseeable future, or at least until a vaccine is widely deployed.
Travel will normalize more quickly in safe zones that coped well with COVID-19, such as between South Korea and China, or between Germany and Greece. But in poorer developing countries struggling to manage the pandemic, such as India or Indonesia, any recovery will be painfully slow.
All this will change the structure of future global travel. Many will opt not to move around at all, especially the elderly. Tourists who experiment with new locations in their safe zones or home countries will stick to new habits. Countries with strong pandemic records will deploy them as tourism marketing strategies—discover Taiwan! Much the same will be true for business, where ease of travel and a new sense of common destiny within each safe zone will restructure investment along epidemiological lines.
The Pandemic Caused Us to Fast-Forward Into the Future
By Vivek Wadhwa, fellow at Harvard Law School, associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and co-author of From Incremental to Exponential: How Large Companies Can See the Future and Rethink Innovation, forthcoming in September
Over the past month, I’ve spent time with more CEOs than I would meet in a year. They were relaxed, engaged, and attentive. We could brainstorm on ideas for them to reinvent their companies without having gatekeepers or naysayers torpedo the discussions. These were the most productive talks I’ve had with C-level executives—and as you may have guessed, this was all done from the comfort of our homes.Our business meetings, family vacations, and leisure activities will increasingly move into virtual worlds.
Two months ago, it would have been inconceivable to be meeting over Skype or Zoom; now it is the norm. The pandemic caused us to fast-forward ten years into the future and there is no turning back. This is the way a lot of business communications will stay.
We may not realize it, but the videoconferencing technologies we are using are right out of science fiction. Remember the TV series The Jetsons? We now have the videophones that George and Judy used.
The next leap forward will come from virtual reality, which is advancing at breakneck speed and will take us by surprise. Our business meetings, family vacations, and leisure activities will increasingly move into virtual worlds. A trip to Tahiti or Mars, perhaps? The holodecks from Star Trek are on their way.
Travel Could Become Unaffordable for Many
By Elizabeth Becker, the author of Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism
Overnight, much of the world went from over-tourism to no tourism. Since then, locals have seen how their lives have improved without those insane crowds: clear skies with vistas stretching for miles, a drastic reduction of litter and waste, clean shorelines and canals, and a return of wildlife.Whatever our income level, travel will take a greater slice of our disposable income.
But business after business went broke without those tourists, revealing how much the global economy depends on non-stop travel. The economic devastation will mean far fewer people can afford to travel. Whatever our income level, travel will take a greater slice of our disposable income.
So be prepared for two dramatically different trends.
Some national and local governments will redesign their tourism strategies to keep down crowds, keep more money in the local economy, and enforce local regulations including those protecting the environment. Many health protocols will become permanent.
Other governments will compete for the shrinking tourist dollar by racing to the bottom, allowing the travel industry to regulate itself, using deep discounts to fill hotels and airplanes and revive over-tourism.
Smart travelers will trust places with good governance and health systems. They will take fewer trips and stay longer. They will see this pandemic as a forecast of what’s to come from the climate crisis. They will act like responsible citizens as well as passionate travelers.
The Freedom to Travel Is Vital to the Post-Pandemic Recovery
By Alexandre de Juniac, the director-general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and a former CEO of Air France-KLM
It’s too early for long-term predictions, but when the first travelers return to the skies, they will find measures that have become commonplace adapted to flying: reduced personal contact, enhanced sanitization, temperature checks, and social distancing. And where sufficient distance isn’t possible—onboard aircraft or in airports—masks will be required.Measures that have become commonplace will be adapted to flying: reduced personal contact, enhanced sanitization, temperature checks, and social distancing.
Within days of 9/11—the last great inflection point for aviation—flying resumed securely. But two decades later, we are still ironing out some of the inconsistencies and inefficiencies of security procedures. This time, months of being mostly grounded have given the airline industry more time to plan and prepare.
With the support of IATA and others, the International Civil Aviation Organization developed a global restart plan to keep people safe when traveling. Restart measures will be bearable for those who need to travel, with universal implementation the priority. It will give governments and travelers the confidence that the system has strong biosafety protections. And it should give regulators the confidence to remove or adjust measures in real time as risk levels change and technology advances.
The freedom to travel will be vital to the post-pandemic recovery. My hope is that we will come out of the crisis with a better passenger experience by moving people through airports more efficiently and increasing confidence in health safety. I am optimistic that this will be a winning result for travelers, governments, the airline industry, and the economy.
We Forgot How Fundamental Travel Was to Modern Life
By James Fallows, a staff writer for The Atlantic and the co-author, with Deborah Fallows, of Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America
Because the process of travel was so routine and often so aggravating, people of the pre-pandemic era rarely concentrated on how fundamental that process—high-volume, high-speed, relatively low-cost human movement—was to the very idea of being modern.What might be lost with a long interruption in easy-connectedness is only now becoming evident.
Students took it for granted that they could aspire to an academic program in a different region, country, or continent—and still go back to visit their families. People who had emigrated permanently, or left their countries for a few years of work or adventure, knew that their homeland was still in relatively quick reach. Children saw their grandparents up close. Families could gather for weddings, births, graduations, funerals. Businesspeople from remote locations went to conventions and conferences to make deals and coordinate plans. The world’s cultural and touristic attractions became open to people from all corners of the globe. For Americans, air travel and international exposure were once such rarities that the now-absurd-sounding term “jet set” actually meant something when it was coined in the 1950s. The commodification of travel allowed people of ordinary means to compose a “bucket list” of sights they wanted to see—and to assume they’d be able to.
Before the lockdown, it was easy to recite all the harm mass travel had done, from the throngs overwhelming Venice or Machu Picchu to the standardization of hotel-and-airport life worldwide. What might be lost with a long interruption in easy-connectedness is only now becoming evident.
There Will Be a Boom in Domestic Travel
By Rolf Potts, the author of four books, including the bestselling travel-philosophy primer Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel
One startling detail about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is that areas with concentrated outbreaks are called hot spots—which is exactly the same phrase the commercial travel industry has used to denote popular and fashionable destinations. This uncomfortable parallel reminds us that travel, in our globalized era, enabled the spread of the virus in a historically unprecedented way.I doubt the desire to go to so-called hot spots or top-ten-list destinations will drive the next wave of travel.
For many people, travel is synonymous with vacations—and that’s fine, but somehow I don’t see vacationers as the model for post-pandemic travel. A constant source of travel headlines in recent years has been tourist overcrowding in places such as Venice and Bali, and I doubt the desire to go to so-called hot spots or top-ten-list destinations will drive the next wave of travel. It will be the desire simply to go, and to figure things out along the journey. Think road trip or backpacking adventure, not package tour.
No doubt the new world of travel will see a boom in domestic travel. Many will go by van or recreational vehicle—and that makes sense, given that one is a lot more self-contained when one travels that way. International travel will also return—and it will be pioneered not just by savvy backpackers and independent travelers going on their own pace and seeing how the journey plays out, but also by working-class folks around the world seeking out family back home, whether that’s in Nigeria, Ecuador, or Poland.
We Will Keep Traveling Because Curiosity Cannot Be Expunged
By Pico Iyer, the author of 15 books that have been translated into 23 languages, most recently Autumn Light and A Beginner’s Guide to Japan
For all our good intentions, we are creatures of habit—and of increasingly diminished attention spans. And COVD-19 has reminded us how little we can confidently say about tomorrow, or even tonight. But my suspicion is that, for better and worse, we will be traveling—and living and making predictions—in June 2021 much as we did in June 2019.For better and worse, we will be traveling in June 2021 much as we did in June 2019.
To some extent, we have to. I was obliged to take three flights in the middle of the pandemic, from Osaka to Santa Barbara, where my 88 year-old mother had just emerged from hospital. A few weeks earlier, I had to fly from Japan to California—for a day—for a public event to which I had long been contractually committed. It would be a blessing for the environment if we all traveled less. And anxiety about travel will be greater next season, and prices higher. But globalism, having spread from person to person for so long, cannot be reversed. Cultural curiosity cannot be expunged. My trips to North Korea have shown me what happens when people cannot get to see the world first-hand.
This article is part of Foreign Policy’s ongoing series about the world after the COVID-19 pandemic. Other installments include:
How the Global Order Will Be Changed Forever by John Allen, Nicholas Burns, Laurie Garrett, Richard N. Haass, G. John Ikenberry, Kishore Mahbubani, Shivshankar Menon, Robin Niblett, Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Shannon K. O’Neil, Kori Schake, Stephen M. Walt
How the Economy Will Look After the Pandemic by Joseph E. Stiglitz, Robert J. Shiller, Gita Gopinath, Carmen M. Reinhart, Adam Posen, Eswar Prasad, Adam Tooze, Laura D’Andrea Tyson, Kishore Mahbubani
How Urban Life Will Be Transformed by Richard Florida, Edward Glaeser, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Kiran Bedi, Thomas J. Campanella, Chan Heng Chee, Dan Doctoroff, Bruce Katz, Rebecca Katz, Joel Kotkin, Robert Muggah, Janette Sadik-Khan
The Future of Government by James Crabtree, Robert D. Kaplan, Robert Muggah, Kumi Naidoo, Shannon K. O’Neil, Adam Posen, Kenneth Roth, Bruce Schneier, Stephen M. Walt, Alexandra Wrage
The Future of Entertainment, Culture, and Sports by Audrey Azoulay, Rahul Bhatia, Rick Cordella, Mark C. Hanson, Baltasar Kormakur, Jonathan Kuntz, David Clay Large, James S. Snyder
The Future of Schools and Universities by Arne Duncan, Andreas Schleicher, Mona Mourshed, Jennifer Nuzzo, Ludger Woessmann, Salvatore Babones, Davesh Kapur, Michael D. Smith, Dick Startz


foreignpolicy--2020-06-14--How Muscle Works in Moscow

How Muscle Works in Moscow

On Oct. 7 , 2006 , the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was spending an unremarkable Saturday afternoon running errands .
When she arrived home , she took what groceries she could carry out of her car and up to her seventh-floor apartment before heading back downstairs for the rest .
As the elevator reached the ground floor and the doors shuddered open , a man in a baseball cap stepped forward and shot the 48-year-old dead .
The person who ordered her assassination has never been found , but there ’ s little doubt about why someone might have wanted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ human rights abuses , corruption , and the misuse of power .
It is a beat that has proved lethal for many Russian journalists—particularly for those such as Politkovskaya who had no krysha , or protection , from the violent political underbelly of post-Soviet Russia .
In Russian , krysha literally means “ roof , ” but the word took on a second meaning in the late 1980s .
Protection from the elements , yes , but also from the organized criminals who flourished as the Soviet state collapsed in on itself .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ krysha has evolved dramatically since the end of the Cold War .
Its trajectory charts the evolution of power in Russia as the gangsterism of the 1990s was brought to heel , making way for the political violence of President Vladimir Putin ’ s rule in the 21st century .
The concept of krysha flourished in the late 1980s after Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed a law allowing for the creation of worker-owned cooperatives .
But these businesses became easy pickings for predatory protection rackets ; criminal gangs took as much as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in return people got to keep their businesses—and their legs—intact .
It was essentially , “ We will protect you against us , ” said Mark Galeotti , an expert on Russian organized crime .
Former athletes of the Soviet Union ’ s prestigious sports clubs and young traumatized veterans of the Soviet war in Afghanistan were often hired to do “ customer-facing ” parts of the deals , said Galeotti , the author of The Vory : Russia ’ s Super Mafia .
The athletes came to be known as kachki , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your muscles .
The collapse of the paternalistic Soviet state gave rise to a Hobbesian free market .
Memories of the so-called wild 1990s are seared into the Russian collective memory .
Everything was for sale .
Desperate pensioners pawned the few possessions they had in crude roadside markets while hulking state enterprises were sold off through a disastrous scheme of voucher privatization , which saw whole swaths of industry , and much of the country ’ s wealth , brought under the control of just a handful of individuals .
As the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of force began to crumble , criminal gangs were on the ascent as guarantors of safety and providers of a kind of justice .
With private industry on the rise , krysha provided a steady stream of income for criminal gangs—a more reliable one than risky criminal activities like robbery .
Racketeers became more invested in the success of the businesses they protected .
Described as “ violent entrepreneurs ” by the Russian sociologist Vadim Volkov , gangs increasingly offered a broad array of support services to those under their krysha : assistance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dispute resolution , contract enforcement , loans , and the creation of problems for rival businesses .
In the absence of a functioning police or court system , the protection offered by gangs was welcomed by many business owners .
“ It was something people trusted , more than the state , ” said Yuliya Zabyelina , an assistant professor of political science at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice .
In the lawlessness of the 1990s , it was almost impossible for a business to survive without hired muscle .
Businesspeople @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A good krysha was judged by its size and influence relative to its competitors .
“ Less powerful criminal groups would seek to align themselves with more powerful criminal groups , who in turn were more likely to obtain their own krysha from corrupt government officials , ” Klaus von Lampe writes in his 2015 book , Organized Crime : Analyzing Illegal Activities , Criminal Structures , and Extra-legal Governance .
A good krysha provided not only protection but also opportunity .
Even in the chaos of the 1990s , the concept @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violent gangsters .
In a $ 6.5 billion court battle between the Russian oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Boris Berezovsky , the former claimed to have paid $ 2 billion over several years to Berezovsky , an influential power broker who had President Boris Yeltsin ’ s ear , for access to the lucrative privatizations of the energy industry .
( Berezovsky denied that there had been any krysha arrangements and said the payments were his share of the profits from Abramovich ’ s oil company , in which he held a 25 percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exclusive to Russia .
“ In Ukraine , krysha is very important if you want to understand how corrupt relationships are structured and maintained , ” Zabyelina said .
By the turn of the millennium , the gangsterism of the 1990s was in decline .
When Putin assumed the presidency in a very staged handoff from the ailing Yeltsin in 1999 , it became clear he would brook no challenge to the state ’ s authority .
Many gang members were killed or imprisoned .
Other residents of the Russian underworld managed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into semi-legitimacy .
Under Putin , Russia entered a period of long-craved stability and prosperity , and the lawlessness of the 1990s faded .
“ Most businesspeople nowadays are not going to encounter organized crime .
If they ’ re going to find predators , it ’ s going to be the fire marshal or , you know , someone in the mayor ’ s office rather than anything else , ” Galeotti said .
As power in Russia became more centralized , so too has the concept of krysha , taking on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that one ’ s source of protection must be a personal connection in the state , or someone closely connected to it .
When bumbling politicians inexplicably continue to hold onto their jobs , or businesses score lucrative government contracts , it sets off speculation about which powerful official or influential oligarch is protecting them .
Krysha continues to take on new meanings in Russia today .
The opposition activist Alexei Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation have published several embarrassing investigations into the unexplained wealth of senior Russian officials , encouraging thousands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ streets to protest against the government .
To challenge powerful figures and remain alive in modern Russia is unusual , as Politkovskaya ’ s fate attests .
But for Russians , Navalny ’ s good fortune is not a mystery—it ’ s only a question of which powerful figures are protecting him and why .

On Oct. 7, 2006, the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was spending an unremarkable Saturday afternoon running errands. When she arrived home, she took what groceries she could carry out of her car and up to her seventh-floor apartment before heading back downstairs for the rest. As the elevator reached the ground floor and the doors shuddered open, a man in a baseball cap stepped forward and shot the 48-year-old dead. The person who ordered her assassination has never been found, but there’s little doubt about why someone might have wanted her dead. Politkovskaya spent years exposing human rights abuses, corruption, and the misuse of power. It is a beat that has proved lethal for many Russian journalists—particularly for those such as Politkovskaya who had no krysha, or protection, from the violent political underbelly of post-Soviet Russia.
On Oct. 7, 2006, the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was spending an unremarkable Saturday afternoon running errands. When she arrived home, she took what groceries she could carry out of her car and up to her seventh-floor apartment before heading back downstairs for the rest. As the elevator reached the ground floor and the doors shuddered open, a man in a baseball cap stepped forward and shot the 48-year-old dead. The person who ordered her assassination has never been found, but there’s little doubt about why someone might have wanted her dead. Politkovskaya spent years exposing human rights abuses, corruption, and the misuse of power. It is a beat that has proved lethal for many Russian journalists—particularly for those such as Politkovskaya who had no krysha, or protection, from the violent political underbelly of post-Soviet Russia.
In Russian, krysha literally means “roof,” but the word took on a second meaning in the late 1980s. Protection from the elements, yes, but also from the organized criminals who flourished as the Soviet state collapsed in on itself. And like Russia, the concept of krysha has evolved dramatically since the end of the Cold War. Its trajectory charts the evolution of power in Russia as the gangsterism of the 1990s was brought to heel, making way for the political violence of President Vladimir Putin’s rule in the 21st century.
The concept of krysha flourished in the late 1980s after Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed a law allowing for the creation of worker-owned cooperatives. But these businesses became easy pickings for predatory protection rackets; criminal gangs took as much as a 30 percent cut of profits, and in return people got to keep their businesses—and their legs—intact. It was essentially, “We will protect you against us,” said Mark Galeotti, an expert on Russian organized crime. Former athletes of the Soviet Union’s prestigious sports clubs and young traumatized veterans of the Soviet war in Afghanistan were often hired to do “customer-facing” parts of the deals, said Galeotti, the author of The Vory: Russia’s Super Mafia. The athletes came to be known as kachki, from the Russian word meaning to pump your muscles.
The collapse of the paternalistic Soviet state gave rise to a Hobbesian free market. Memories of the so-called wild 1990s are seared into the Russian collective memory. Everything was for sale. Desperate pensioners pawned the few possessions they had in crude roadside markets while hulking state enterprises were sold off through a disastrous scheme of voucher privatization, which saw whole swaths of industry, and much of the country’s wealth, brought under the control of just a handful of individuals.
As the state’s monopoly on the use of force began to crumble, criminal gangs were on the ascent as guarantors of safety and providers of a kind of justice. With private industry on the rise, krysha provided a steady stream of income for criminal gangs—a more reliable one than risky criminal activities like robbery. Racketeers became more invested in the success of the businesses they protected. Described as “violent entrepreneurs” by the Russian sociologist Vadim Volkov, gangs increasingly offered a broad array of support services to those under their krysha: assistance in navigating the fiendish state bureaucracy, dispute resolution, contract enforcement, loans, and the creation of problems for rival businesses. In the absence of a functioning police or court system, the protection offered by gangs was welcomed by many business owners. “It was something people trusted, more than the state,” said Yuliya Zabyelina, an assistant professor of political science at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In the lawlessness of the 1990s, it was almost impossible for a business to survive without hired muscle.
Businesspeople were discerning about who provided their krysha. A good krysha was judged by its size and influence relative to its competitors. “Less powerful criminal groups would seek to align themselves with more powerful criminal groups, who in turn were more likely to obtain their own krysha from corrupt government officials,” Klaus von Lampe writes in his 2015 book, Organized Crime: Analyzing Illegal Activities, Criminal Structures, and Extra-legal Governance.
A good krysha provided not only protection but also opportunity. Even in the chaos of the 1990s, the concept was not confined to the world of violent gangsters. In a $6.5 billion court battle between the Russian oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Boris Berezovsky, the former claimed to have paid $2 billion over several years to Berezovsky, an influential power broker who had President Boris Yeltsin’s ear, for access to the lucrative privatizations of the energy industry. (Berezovsky denied that there had been any krysha arrangements and said the payments were his share of the profits from Abramovich’s oil company, in which he held a 25 percent stake.) Nor was the term exclusive to Russia. “In Ukraine, krysha is very important if you want to understand how corrupt relationships are structured and maintained,” Zabyelina said.
By the turn of the millennium, the gangsterism of the 1990s was in decline. When Putin assumed the presidency in a very staged handoff from the ailing Yeltsin in 1999, it became clear he would brook no challenge to the state’s authority. Many gang members were killed or imprisoned. Other residents of the Russian underworld managed to use their connections to maneuver their businesses into semi-legitimacy.
Under Putin, Russia entered a period of long-craved stability and prosperity, and the lawlessness of the 1990s faded. “Most businesspeople nowadays are not going to encounter organized crime. If they’re going to find predators, it’s going to be the fire marshal or, you know, someone in the mayor’s office rather than anything else,” Galeotti said. As power in Russia became more centralized, so too has the concept of krysha, taking on a more political connotation; the assumption is that one’s source of protection must be a personal connection in the state, or someone closely connected to it. When bumbling politicians inexplicably continue to hold onto their jobs, or businesses score lucrative government contracts, it sets off speculation about which powerful official or influential oligarch is protecting them.
Krysha continues to take on new meanings in Russia today. The opposition activist Alexei Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation have published several embarrassing investigations into the unexplained wealth of senior Russian officials, encouraging thousands of young Russians to take to the streets to protest against the government. To challenge powerful figures and remain alive in modern Russia is unusual, as Politkovskaya’s fate attests. But for Russians, Navalny’s good fortune is not a mystery—it’s only a question of which powerful figures are protecting him and why.


foreignpolicy--2020-06-14--To Save Its Democracy, the United States Needs a Dose of Its Own Medicine

To Save Its Democracy , the United States Needs a Dose of Its Own Medicine Imagine the following scene : A country is burning .
Minority communities and their allies are flooding major cities to protest human rights abuses and inequality .
The president is a divisive demagogue who openly endorses violence against his critics in a cynical effort to bolster his waning support .
The media , once a respected institution , has become caught in real-life crossfire , at risk of arrest and attack .
And the police are no longer respected as guarantors of the rule of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threat to public safety .
Smoke plumes are visible in the capital city ; government buildings and neighborhoods are tagged with anti-establishment graffiti while police headquarters are set ablaze ; storefronts are shattered ; police and ambulance sirens blare while helicopters buzz overhead ; and citywide curfews are imposed .
This is precisely the kind of country that the United States regularly invests millions of dollars in to promote democracy .
But today we are not speaking of the Democratic Republic of the Congo or the Philippines or Venezuela .
It is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the U.S. government is crying out for the kind of democracy aid program that it regularly implements “ over there ” in so-called developing countries .
The U.S. government is crying out for the kind of democracy aid program that it regularly implements “ over there ” in so-called developing countries .
To be sure , the fault lines ingrained in the DNA of American democracy are nothing new .
And while jarring , neither the killing of George Floyd by a uniformed white police officer nor the eruption of anguish that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Institutionalized racism and inequality , growing fissures between the haves and have-nots , and a political system that blatantly favors campaign war chests over candidate quality have long tarnished the United States ’ democratic standing .
And these concerns did not materialize overnight but are instead the inevitable outcome of the refusal of the world ’ s self-proclaimed “ most powerful democracy ” to recognize and genuinely address its own shortcomings .
Indeed , the United States urgently needs the sort of democracy promotion program that its leaders , often on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The complacency exhibited by U.S. political leaders is deeply entrenched , especially in Washington , where officials of all stripes appear to be oddly comfortable overseeing the steady erosion of the country ’ s democratic norms .
The malaise has a deep cultural component that has its roots in the notion of American exceptionalism .
According to this worldview , the United States is portrayed , envisioned , and often believed by its citizens to be fundamentally different from its global counterparts—often in a manner that elevates it above criticism .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reinforced by the work of some of the organizations analyzing global democratic trends—such as Freedom House—which for too long framed the American project as the epitome of what a democracy should look like—the very standard , in other words , by which other countries are judged .
Although organizations like Freedom House and others have recently raised serious concerns about the downward trajectory of U.S. democracy , as well as its global ramifications , this has yet to fully permeate the national consciousness .
As a result , this often distorting feedback loop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States ’ strong institutions and good intentions , has served to mask the country ’ s fundamental flaws .
Over the past several years in particular , these have included the continued economic and political marginalization of minority groups ; the woeful underrepresentation of women in elected office ; heavily gerrymandered electoral districts that create an uneven political playing field ; the fomenting of political violence by extremist elected officials ; and the grossly distorting influence of big money in politics .
This background helps to explain why there has been a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States , including elections .
The most extreme example was the U.S. political establishment ’ s endorsement of Brian Kemp as the governor of Georgia in 2018 , despite glaring irregularities and the systematic discrimination and disenfranchisement that secured his victory .
Kemp , who simultaneously served as Georgia ’ s secretary of state while running for office , clearly worked to make voting more difficult for his rival ’ s supporters , especially for people of color , who overwhelmingly backed his opponent , Stacey Abrams .
Unsurprisingly , just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the focus of widespread criticism for its abysmal handling of local elections .
Despite the damage that such exclusionary processes inflict on democracy , American political leaders have actively worked against each other to prevent reform .
The fact that HR 1 , the aptly titled For The People Act , which passed the House of Representatives in 2019—and would have expanded access to the ballot box , reduced the influence of big money in politics , and strengthened ethics rules for public servants—was blocked by the Senate is a perfect illustration of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Senate , Mitch McConnell , openly mocked the bill and vowed to not allow a vote on its substance—the sort of patently anti-democratic behavior that the U.S. government often condemns abroad .
President Donald Trump—a leader whose only consistent trait has been to rhetorically , and in practice , violate key principles of democracy and human rights—has helped accelerate America ’ s backsliding .
All too often , however , commentators focus on Trump as if he alone explains the country ’ s democratic decline .
In reality , he is more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fractured political system that has been marked by growing polarization and distrust for many years .
In light of the evident decay of U.S. democracy , it is striking that , in recent years , the U.S. government has spent considerably more time , energy , and resources trying to make “ democracy work ” beyond its borders instead of at home .
From its modest beginnings in the late 1980s , global spending on democracy promotion is now estimated to total around $ 8 billion to $ 10 billion a year ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years , even under the Obama administration ) .
To be clear , these investments are not a bad thing—when implemented strategically and with a long-term focus , pro-democracy programs are a cost-effective way to protect and enhance the rights and livelihoods of millions of people across the world .
Imagine if the dedicated staff who work for the U.S. Agency for International Development were to travel home from their placements in countries such as Nigeria , Iraq , Afghanistan , and Bangladesh to conduct an evaluation of elections in North Carolina , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imagine if the dedicated staff who work for the U.S. Agency for International Development were to travel home from their placements in countries such as Nigeria , Iraq , Afghanistan , and Bangladesh—several of the top recipients of U.S. democracy assistance—to conduct an evaluation of elections in North Carolina , Georgia , and Wisconsin .
They would surely conclude that many of the projects they have been implementing abroad could help strengthen the U.S. political system at a time when it is desperately needed .
What the United States needs today , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ renewal , learning from what has been most effective around the world .
This should include immediate measures designed to reduce the risk of political instability—and potential violence—around the upcoming November elections and a longer-term reform process to rebuild confidence in the political system .
First , the United States needs a truth , justice , and reconciliation program to address the mistreatment of racial minorities by the police and related security forces .
In countries such as South Africa , where the apartheid regime explicitly sought to exacerbate racial divisions , programs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ begun to identify further reforms that are needed for countries to move forward .
Ideally , this initiative would coincide with a peace pact accepted by the main political parties that would commit them to adhering to democratic principles and to not—tacitly or otherwise—incite violence in the lead-up to the November election .
This approach , for example , has been effective in staving off political violence during elections in Guatemala .
Second , it is clear that major electoral reforms are needed to end the practice of gerrymandering and to prevent voter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for an individual to register to vote and to exercise basic democratic rights .
As the Brennan Center for Justice and the Center for American Progress have both documented , the past decade has seen a “ swelling cascade ” of targeted efforts to suppress the vote of racial minorities .
This has often been justified on the basis that it is a much needed democratic reform , but in reality this kind of voter fraud has rarely been a significant problem in the United States—despite the outlandish claims of Republican leaders and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most recent documented example of outright fraud involved ballot-tampering efforts on behalf of a Republican member of the House of Representatives in North Carolina , who stepped down in the wake of the allegations . )
The November election is too soon for truly systematic reform to be introduced , but it is possible to mitigate some of the fallout .
For example , carefully targeted and well-funded Get Out the Vote campaigns , in countries such as Ivory Coast , have had considerable success at boosting registration rates among historically disenfranchised communities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The United States has a history of “ rock the vote ” campaigns , but in 2020 , these need to be far more comprehensive and connected to existing efforts by state governments to lower the cost of voting , ideally including automatic voter registration or same-day registration , which has already been rolled out in 16 states and the District of Columbia .
And finally , the divisive use of social media and partisan attacks on all forms of media need to be brought to an end starting with Trump himself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twitter recently made the decision to publicly fact-check Trump ’ s misleading tweets , and Snapchat also applied their terms of service to Trump ’ s incitement .
In Kenya , following intense post-election violence in 2007 , a program of “ peace journalism ” training was introduced to encourage professionals to think about the consequences of their statements .
Of course , this must be done carefully so that it does not lead to greater censorship , but along with extensive digital literacy campaigns—which should be taught in schools as well as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread and potency of misinformation .
Together with careful media monitoring and the prosecution of those involved in hate speech or incitement , this could reduce the risk of election unrest .
In the long term , strengthening the system of checks and balances against the executive will also be critical .
The Trump years have demonstrated—the ability of Congress to impeach the president notwithstanding—that many of the constraints assumed to be in place were rather informal and easily broken by a leader willing to flout precedent and commit unconstitutional , and potentially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Unit has already demoted the United States from a “ full democracy ” to a “ flawed democracy ” —alongside countries as varied as Namibia , El Salvador , and Thailand—after it moved downward across a range of indicators , including inequality , political authoritarianism , and lack of trust in government .
This situation is bad for the United States and for the world writ large .
Beleaguered activists abroad still look to Washington , imperfect as its politics may be , for hope and for solidarity in their democratic struggles .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ correct glaring democratic deficiencies at home is to betray the promise of democracy that American leaders have long preached to the world—and to their own citizens—for generations .

Imagine the following scene: A country is burning. Minority communities and their allies are flooding major cities to protest human rights abuses and inequality. The president is a divisive demagogue who openly endorses violence against his critics in a cynical effort to bolster his waning support. The media, once a respected institution, has become caught in real-life crossfire, at risk of arrest and attack. And the police are no longer respected as guarantors of the rule of law but are instead seen as a threat to public safety.
Imagine the following scene: A country is burning. Minority communities and their allies are flooding major cities to protest human rights abuses and inequality. The president is a divisive demagogue who openly endorses violence against his critics in a cynical effort to bolster his waning support. The media, once a respected institution, has become caught in real-life crossfire, at risk of arrest and attack. And the police are no longer respected as guarantors of the rule of law but are instead seen as a threat to public safety.
Smoke plumes are visible in the capital city; government buildings and neighborhoods are tagged with anti-establishment graffiti while police headquarters are set ablaze; storefronts are shattered; police and ambulance sirens blare while helicopters buzz overhead; and citywide curfews are imposed.
This is precisely the kind of country that the United States regularly invests millions of dollars in to promote democracy. But today we are not speaking of the Democratic Republic of the Congo or the Philippines or Venezuela. It is the United States itself. The irony is that the U.S. government is crying out for the kind of democracy aid program that it regularly implements “over there” in so-called developing countries.
The U.S. government is crying out for the kind of democracy aid program that it regularly implements “over there” in so-called developing countries.
To be sure, the fault lines ingrained in the DNA of American democracy are nothing new. And while jarring, neither the killing of George Floyd by a uniformed white police officer nor the eruption of anguish that has followed should come as a shock.
Institutionalized racism and inequality, growing fissures between the haves and have-nots, and a political system that blatantly favors campaign war chests over candidate quality have long tarnished the United States’ democratic standing. And these concerns did not materialize overnight but are instead the inevitable outcome of the refusal of the world’s self-proclaimed “most powerful democracy” to recognize and genuinely address its own shortcomings.
Indeed, the United States urgently needs the sort of democracy promotion program that its leaders, often on a bipartisan basis, have long advocated abroad.
The complacency exhibited by U.S. political leaders is deeply entrenched, especially in Washington, where officials of all stripes appear to be oddly comfortable overseeing the steady erosion of the country’s democratic norms. The malaise has a deep cultural component that has its roots in the notion of American exceptionalism. According to this worldview, the United States is portrayed, envisioned, and often believed by its citizens to be fundamentally different from its global counterparts—often in a manner that elevates it above criticism.
This tendency to idealize U.S. democracy has been reinforced by the work of some of the organizations analyzing global democratic trends—such as Freedom House—which for too long framed the American project as the epitome of what a democracy should look like—the very standard, in other words, by which other countries are judged. Although organizations like Freedom House and others have recently raised serious concerns about the downward trajectory of U.S. democracy, as well as its global ramifications, this has yet to fully permeate the national consciousness.
As a result, this often distorting feedback loop, and the prevailing presumption of the United States’ strong institutions and good intentions, has served to mask the country’s fundamental flaws. Over the past several years in particular, these have included the continued economic and political marginalization of minority groups; the woeful underrepresentation of women in elected office; heavily gerrymandered electoral districts that create an uneven political playing field; the fomenting of political violence by extremist elected officials; and the grossly distorting influence of big money in politics.
This background helps to explain why there has been a bizarre acceptance of flawed political processes in the United States, including elections. The most extreme example was the U.S. political establishment’s endorsement of Brian Kemp as the governor of Georgia in 2018, despite glaring irregularities and the systematic discrimination and disenfranchisement that secured his victory. Kemp, who simultaneously served as Georgia’s secretary of state while running for office, clearly worked to make voting more difficult for his rival’s supporters, especially for people of color, who overwhelmingly backed his opponent, Stacey Abrams. Unsurprisingly, just this past week, Georgia was again the focus of widespread criticism for its abysmal handling of local elections.
Despite the damage that such exclusionary processes inflict on democracy, American political leaders have actively worked against each other to prevent reform. The fact that HR 1, the aptly titled For The People Act, which passed the House of Representatives in 2019—and would have expanded access to the ballot box, reduced the influence of big money in politics, and strengthened ethics rules for public servants—was blocked by the Senate is a perfect illustration of this predicament. The Republican leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, openly mocked the bill and vowed to not allow a vote on its substance—the sort of patently anti-democratic behavior that the U.S. government often condemns abroad.
President Donald Trump—a leader whose only consistent trait has been to rhetorically, and in practice, violate key principles of democracy and human rights—has helped accelerate America’s backsliding. All too often, however, commentators focus on Trump as if he alone explains the country’s democratic decline. In reality, he is more a symptom than a cause of a fractured political system that has been marked by growing polarization and distrust for many years.
In light of the evident decay of U.S. democracy, it is striking that, in recent years, the U.S. government has spent considerably more time, energy, and resources trying to make “democracy work” beyond its borders instead of at home. From its modest beginnings in the late 1980s, global spending on democracy promotion is now estimated to total around $8 billion to $10 billion a year (though U.S. spending has declined in recent years, even under the Obama administration). To be clear, these investments are not a bad thing—when implemented strategically and with a long-term focus, pro-democracy programs are a cost-effective way to protect and enhance the rights and livelihoods of millions of people across the world.
Imagine if the dedicated staff who work for the U.S. Agency for International Development were to travel home from their placements in countries such as Nigeria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh to conduct an evaluation of elections in North Carolina, Georgia, and Wisconsin.
However, imagine if the dedicated staff who work for the U.S. Agency for International Development were to travel home from their placements in countries such as Nigeria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh—several of the top recipients of U.S. democracy assistance—to conduct an evaluation of elections in North Carolina, Georgia, and Wisconsin. They would surely conclude that many of the projects they have been implementing abroad could help strengthen the U.S. political system at a time when it is desperately needed.
What the United States needs today, in fact, is a program of democratic renewal, learning from what has been most effective around the world. This should include immediate measures designed to reduce the risk of political instability—and potential violence—around the upcoming November elections and a longer-term reform process to rebuild confidence in the political system.
First, the United States needs a truth, justice, and reconciliation program to address the mistreatment of racial minorities by the police and related security forces. In countries such as South Africa, where the apartheid regime explicitly sought to exacerbate racial divisions, programs like this have both promoted healing and begun to identify further reforms that are needed for countries to move forward.
Ideally, this initiative would coincide with a peace pact accepted by the main political parties that would commit them to adhering to democratic principles and to not—tacitly or otherwise—incite violence in the lead-up to the November election. This approach, for example, has been effective in staving off political violence during elections in Guatemala.
Second, it is clear that major electoral reforms are needed to end the practice of gerrymandering and to prevent voter suppression—the deliberate use of unnecessarily demanding requirements for an individual to register to vote and to exercise basic democratic rights. As the Brennan Center for Justice and the Center for American Progress have both documented, the past decade has seen a “swelling cascade” of targeted efforts to suppress the vote of racial minorities.
This has often been justified on the basis that it is a much needed democratic reform, but in reality this kind of voter fraud has rarely been a significant problem in the United States—despite the outlandish claims of Republican leaders and Trump. (In fact, the most recent documented example of outright fraud involved ballot-tampering efforts on behalf of a Republican member of the House of Representatives in North Carolina, who stepped down in the wake of the allegations.)
The November election is too soon for truly systematic reform to be introduced, but it is possible to mitigate some of the fallout. For example, carefully targeted and well-funded Get Out the Vote campaigns, in countries such as Ivory Coast, have had considerable success at boosting registration rates among historically disenfranchised communities like minorities, women, and youth. The United States has a history of “rock the vote” campaigns, but in 2020, these need to be far more comprehensive and connected to existing efforts by state governments to lower the cost of voting, ideally including automatic voter registration or same-day registration, which has already been rolled out in 16 states and the District of Columbia.
And finally, the divisive use of social media and partisan attacks on all forms of media need to be brought to an end starting with Trump himself. To their credit, officials at Twitter recently made the decision to publicly fact-check Trump’s misleading tweets, and Snapchat also applied their terms of service to Trump’s incitement. In Kenya, following intense post-election violence in 2007, a program of “peace journalism” training was introduced to encourage professionals to think about the consequences of their statements.
Of course, this must be done carefully so that it does not lead to greater censorship, but along with extensive digital literacy campaigns—which should be taught in schools as well as over the airwaves—it can help reduce the spread and potency of misinformation. Together with careful media monitoring and the prosecution of those involved in hate speech or incitement, this could reduce the risk of election unrest.
In the long term, strengthening the system of checks and balances against the executive will also be critical. The Trump years have demonstrated—the ability of Congress to impeach the president notwithstanding—that many of the constraints assumed to be in place were rather informal and easily broken by a leader willing to flout precedent and commit unconstitutional, and potentially illegal, acts. The Economist Intelligence Unit has already demoted the United States from a “full democracy” to a “flawed democracy”—alongside countries as varied as Namibia, El Salvador, and Thailand—after it moved downward across a range of indicators, including inequality, political authoritarianism, and lack of trust in government.
This situation is bad for the United States and for the world writ large. Beleaguered activists abroad still look to Washington, imperfect as its politics may be, for hope and for solidarity in their democratic struggles. To betray these aspirations and fail to correct glaring democratic deficiencies at home is to betray the promise of democracy that American leaders have long preached to the world—and to their own citizens—for generations.


foreignpolicy--2020-06-15--U.S. Protests Continue After Atlanta Police Shooting

Here is today ’ s Foreign Policy brief : The police killing of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta adds to further unrest in the United States , Rappler ruling threatens press freedom in the Philippines , and the World This Week .
We welcome your feedback at morningbrief @ foreignpolicy.com .
As the United States enters its fourth week of nationwide protests against racism and police violence , Americans were given another grim reminder of what has brought them out on the streets .
The killing of Rayshard Brooks—a 27-year-old black man—on Friday in Atlanta has led to further unrest as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s police commissioner .
Police officers had accosted Brooks after responding to a complaint that he had fallen asleep in his car at a Wendy ’ s drive-through lane .
After a conversation with police led to a scuffle , Brooks attempted to flee .
Officer Garrett Rolfe—who has since been fired—then shot Brooks in the back .
The Wendy ’ s restaurant was set alight by protesters in the aftermath of the shooting .
The killing has led to further outcry from Democratic lawmakers .
“ This did not call for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t know what ’ s in the culture that would make this guy do that.
” Rep. James Clyburn , the House majority whip , told CNN on Sunday .
“ It has got to be the culture .
It ’ s got to be the system.
” How “ the system ” goes beyond U.S. shores .
In the past few weeks , Foreign Policy has looked at how racism overshadows the U.S. foreign policy apparatus .
On June 11 , FP ’ s Robbie Gramer heard from black U.S. foreign service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. diplomacy exacerbated by the Trump administration .
“ I think that a lot of foreign service officers of color , particularly black officers , are at a point where they ’ re just fed up , ” said one official .
“ We ’ re dissatisfied , we feel dehumanized , and I think enough is enough.
” FP ’ s Michael Hirsh spoke with retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard , one of the few black Americans to reach the rank of two-star general or higher , on the racism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a three-decade-long career .
A racist foreign policy ?
Salih Booker , writing in Foreign Policy on June 12 , condemned U.S. militarism on the African continent as an extension of the country ’ s racist domestic history .
The increased U.S. military presence “ inevitably results in the killing of unarmed civilians in Somalia and elsewhere in Africa , mirroring the police killings of black Americans in the United States , ” Booker writes .
“ The growth of the U.S. military footprint in Africa is a white American knee on Africa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s violent behavior in Africa is not captured on smartphone videos.
” Press freedom in the Phillipines .
The journalist Maria Ressa , the founder of news site Rappler , has been found guilty of criminal libel by a Manila court in a case Human Rights Watch described as a “ devastating blow ” to press freedom in the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte .
Ressa and another Rappler journalist , Reynaldo Santos Jr. , were sentenced to up to six years in prison under the country ’ s cybercrime prevention act of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ article that was deemed libelous predated the law , but a later online update of a typo was enough for prosecutors to consider it worthy of an indictment .
Speaking after the verdict was announced , Ressa appealed to her fellow journalists not to lose heart .
“ We are meant to be a cautionary tale .
We are meant to make you afraid .
So I appeal again : Don ’ t be afraid .
Because if you don ’ t use your rights , you will lose them.
” Nigeria attacks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in two militant attacks in Northern Nigeria over the weekend , both have been claimed by Islamic State West Africa Province .
The attacks in Monguno and Nganzai districts of Borno state killed at least 60 people , while a separate attack in Gabio district killed at least 81 .
The United Nations , which has a humanitarian base in Monguno , said it was “ appalled ” by the attacks .
Beijing records coronavirus surge .
Beijing has seen a spike in the number of coronavirus cases in recent days after 51 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an outbreak linked to the Xinfadi wholesale market .
Authorities have ordered anyone who has visited the market since May 30 to get tested for the virus .
Intra-Afghan talks venue announced .
The Afghan government and the Taliban have agreed to hold their first round of peace talks in Doha , Qatar , according to dual statements made on Sunday .
A date for the talks has yet to be announced , although a Taliban spokesman said that they were prepared to talk within a week of the release of 5,000 prisoners @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3,000 so far .
Ireland forms new government .
Three Irish political parties are expected to sign off on a coalition deal today to form a new government , more than three months after national elections were held .
The deal will bring together Fianna Fail and Fine Gael—the previous ruling party—in a governing coalition for the first time , with the Green Party as the third member .
Poland ’ s presidential election .
Polish President Andrzej Duda has accused international media of taking his comments out of context after a Saturday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ LGBT rights as an “ ideology ” more destructive to the country than communism .
“ Yet again , as part of dirty political fight , my words are put out of context .
I truly believe in diversity and equality , ” Duda tweeted in English on Sunday .
Ahead of a June 28 presidential election , Duda has signed on to the “ Family Charter ” of election plans , which includes pledges to prevent gay couples from marrying and adopting children and to ban schools from teaching about LGBT issues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to begin trials of direct cash payments to its citizens in a bid to cut down on the cost of its current subsidy programs on fuel , bread , and medicine .
The government will distribute approximately $ 9 per month to needy citizens , with a view to extending the program to 80 percent of Sudan ’ s households .
The trial will begin in Khartoum ’ s West Soba district before being rolled out to four other areas of the country , according to a statement from Sudan ’ s finance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The two-meter social distancing rule that has become commonplace in public spaces has come in for criticism after scientists uncovered flaws in the report the recommendation was based on .
The initial study was commissioned by the World Health Organization and published in the medical journal the Lancet .
“ I think they did it in such a rush—the authors , possibly the WHO , and the Lancet peer reviewers—that important things were missed , ” said Kevin McConway , a statistician at the Open University .
The criticism comes as the British @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guidelines , including the two-meter rule .
A second round of trade talks between the United States and United Kingdom begins today .
The negotiating teams are led by Dan Mullaney , assistant U.S. trade representative for Europe and the Middle East and Oliver Griffiths , director for U.S. negotiations at the U.K. Department for International Trade .
Paul Whelan trial concludes .
The verdict in the trial of Paul Whelan , a U.S. citizen held in Russia on charges of espionage , will be delivered today by a court in Moscow .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ since December 28 , 2018 .
Russian prosecutors are requesting an 18-year sentence .
On Tuesday , June 16 , the Hungarian parliament will vote on whether to end the emergency powers granted at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic , including the ability of Prime Minister Viktor Orban to rule by decree .
Polish forces made a brief incursion into the Czech Republic last month , it has recently emerged .
The Polish soldiers overstepped the border of their fellow European Union member by 30 meters while setting up a perimeter as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measures—that included commandeering a local church .
A local man attempting to photograph the church discovered the “ invasion , ” but was rebuffed by the Polish troops .
“ A soldier dressed in the uniform of a foreign state and carrying a sub-machine gun started giving me orders .
It was a terrifying experience , ” the man told a local newspaper .
Eventually , Czech police were summoned and ordered the Poles to return to their side of the border .
The Polish Ministry of Defense has dismissed the episode as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ FP , visit foreignpolicy.com , subscribe here , or sign up for our other newsletters .
Send your tips , comments , questions , or corrections to morningbrief @ foreignpolicy.com .

Here is today’s Foreign Policy brief: The police killing of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta adds to further unrest in the United States, the Rappler ruling threatens press freedom in the Philippines, and what to watch in the world this week .
Here is today’s Foreign Policy brief: The police killing of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta adds to further unrest in the United States, the Rappler ruling threatens press freedom in the Philippines, and what to watch in the world this week.
If you would like to receive Morning Brief in your inbox every weekday, please sign up here.
Rayshard Brooks Killing Sparks Further Outrage
As the United States enters its fourth week of nationwide protests against racism and police violence, Americans were given another grim reminder of what has brought them out on the streets.
The killing of Rayshard Brooks—a 27-year-old black man—on Friday in Atlanta has led to further unrest as well as the resignation of the city’s police commissioner.
Police officers had accosted Brooks after responding to a complaint that he had fallen asleep in his car at a Wendy’s drive-through lane. After a conversation with police led to a scuffle, Brooks attempted to flee. Officer Garrett Rolfe—who has since been fired—then shot Brooks in the back. The Wendy’s restaurant was set alight by protesters in the aftermath of the shooting.
The killing has led to further outcry from Democratic lawmakers. “This did not call for lethal force. And I don’t know what’s in the culture that would make this guy do that.” Rep. James Clyburn, the House majority whip, told CNN on Sunday. “It has got to be the culture. It’s got to be the system.”
How “the system” goes beyond U.S. shores. In the past few weeks, Foreign Policy has looked at how racism overshadows the U.S. foreign policy apparatus.
On June 11, FP’s Robbie Gramer heard from black U.S. foreign service officers on the long-standing systemic problems within U.S. diplomacy exacerbated by the Trump administration. “I think that a lot of foreign service officers of color, particularly black officers, are at a point where they’re just fed up,” said one official. “We’re dissatisfied, we feel dehumanized, and I think enough is enough.”
FP’s Michael Hirsh spoke with retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard, one of the few black Americans to reach the rank of two-star general or higher, on the racism he experienced in the U.S. military over a three-decade-long career.
A racist foreign policy? Salih Booker, writing in Foreign Policy on June 12, condemned U.S. militarism on the African continent as an extension of the country’s racist domestic history. The increased U.S. military presence “inevitably results in the killing of unarmed civilians in Somalia and elsewhere in Africa, mirroring the police killings of black Americans in the United States,” Booker writes. “The growth of the U.S. military footprint in Africa is a white American knee on Africa’s neck. But Washington’s violent behavior in Africa is not captured on smartphone videos.”
What We’re Following Today
Press freedom in the Phillipines. The journalist Maria Ressa, the founder of news site Rappler, has been found guilty of criminal libel by a Manila court in a case Human Rights Watch described as a “devastating blow” to press freedom in the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte.
Ressa and another Rappler journalist, Reynaldo Santos Jr., were sentenced to up to six years in prison under the country’s cybercrime prevention act of 2012, which includes libel. The article that was deemed libelous predated the law, but a later online update of a typo was enough for prosecutors to consider it worthy of an indictment.
Speaking after the verdict was announced, Ressa appealed to her fellow journalists not to lose heart. “We are meant to be a cautionary tale. We are meant to make you afraid. So I appeal again: Don’t be afraid. Because if you don’t use your rights, you will lose them.”
Nigeria attacks. At least 141 people were killed in two militant attacks in Northern Nigeria over the weekend, both have been claimed by Islamic State West Africa Province. The attacks in Monguno and Nganzai districts of Borno state killed at least 60 people, while a separate attack in Gabio district killed at least 81. The United Nations, which has a humanitarian base in Monguno, said it was “appalled” by the attacks.
Beijing records coronavirus surge. Beijing has seen a spike in the number of coronavirus cases in recent days after 51 people tested positive for the virus in an outbreak linked to the Xinfadi wholesale market. Authorities have ordered anyone who has visited the market since May 30 to get tested for the virus.
Intra-Afghan talks venue announced. The Afghan government and the Taliban have agreed to hold their first round of peace talks in Doha, Qatar, according to dual statements made on Sunday. A date for the talks has yet to be announced, although a Taliban spokesman said that they were prepared to talk within a week of the release of 5,000 prisoners. The Afghan government has released roughly 3,000 so far.
Ireland forms new government. Three Irish political parties are expected to sign off on a coalition deal today to form a new government, more than three months after national elections were held. The deal will bring together Fianna Fail and Fine Gael—the previous ruling party—in a governing coalition for the first time, with the Green Party as the third member.
Keep an Eye On
Poland’s presidential election. Polish President Andrzej Duda has accused international media of taking his comments out of context after a Saturday speech he gave describing the movement for LGBT rights as an “ideology” more destructive to the country than communism. “Yet again, as part of dirty political fight, my words are put out of context. I truly believe in diversity and equality,” Duda tweeted in English on Sunday. Ahead of a June 28 presidential election, Duda has signed on to the “Family Charter” of election plans, which includes pledges to prevent gay couples from marrying and adopting children and to ban schools from teaching about LGBT issues.
Sudan cash payments. Sudan is to begin trials of direct cash payments to its citizens in a bid to cut down on the cost of its current subsidy programs on fuel, bread, and medicine. The government will distribute approximately $9 per month to needy citizens, with a view to extending the program to 80 percent of Sudan’s households. The trial will begin in Khartoum’s West Soba district before being rolled out to four other areas of the country, according to a statement from Sudan’s finance ministry.
Two meters too many? The two-meter social distancing rule that has become commonplace in public spaces has come in for criticism after scientists uncovered flaws in the report the recommendation was based on. The initial study was commissioned by the World Health Organization and published in the medical journal the Lancet. “I think they did it in such a rush—the authors, possibly the WHO, and the Lancet peer reviewers—that important things were missed,” said Kevin McConway, a statistician at the Open University. The criticism comes as the British government plans a review of social distancing guidelines, including the two-meter rule.
The World This Week
A second round of trade talks between the United States and United Kingdom begins today. The negotiating teams are led by Dan Mullaney, assistant U.S. trade representative for Europe and the Middle East and Oliver Griffiths, director for U.S. negotiations at the U.K. Department for International Trade.
Paul Whelan trial concludes. The verdict in the trial of Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen held in Russia on charges of espionage, will be delivered today by a court in Moscow. Whelan has been in detention in Russia since December 28, 2018. Russian prosecutors are requesting an 18-year sentence.
On Tuesday, June 16, the Hungarian parliament will vote on whether to end the emergency powers granted at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, including the ability of Prime Minister Viktor Orban to rule by decree.
Odds and Ends
Polish forces made a brief incursion into the Czech Republic last month, it has recently emerged. The Polish soldiers overstepped the border of their fellow European Union member by 30 meters while setting up a perimeter as part of the country’s coronavirus measures—that included commandeering a local church. A local man attempting to photograph the church discovered the “invasion,” but was rebuffed by the Polish troops. “A soldier dressed in the uniform of a foreign state and carrying a sub-machine gun started giving me orders. It was a terrifying experience,” the man told a local newspaper. Eventually, Czech police were summoned and ordered the Poles to return to their side of the border. The Polish Ministry of Defense has dismissed the episode as a “misunderstanding.”
That’s it for today.
For more from FP, visit foreignpolicy.com, subscribe here, or sign up for our other newsletters. Send your tips, comments, questions, or corrections to morningbrief@foreignpolicy.com.