COVID-19: Potential Implications for
May 4, 2020
International Security Environment—Overview Ronald O'Rourke
of Issues and Further Reading for Congress
Specialist in Naval Affairs

Some observers argue the COVID-19 pandemic could be a world-changing event with potentially
Kathleen J. McInnis
profound and long-lasting implications for the international security environment and the U.S.
Specialist in International
role in the world. Other observers are more skeptical that the COVID-19 pandemic will have
Security
such effects.

Observers who argue the COVID-19 pandemic could be world-changing for the international
Michael Moodie
Assistant Director and
security environment and the U.S. role in the world have focused on several areas of potential
Senior Specialist in Foreign
change, including the following, which are listed here separately but overlap in some cases and
Affairs, Defense and Trade
can interact with one another:

 world order, international institutions, and global governance;

 U.S. global leadership and the U.S. role in the world;
 China’s potential role as a global leader;
 U.S. relations and great power competition with China and Russia, including the use of the COVID-19
pandemic as a theme or tool for conducting ideological competition;
 the relative prevalence of democratic and authoritarian or autocratic forms of government;
 societal tension, reform, transformation, and governmental stability in various countries;
 the world economy, globalization, and U.S. trade policy;
 the characteristics and conduct of conflict;
 allied defense budgets and U.S. alliances;
 the cohesion of the European Union;
 the definition of, and budgeting for, U.S. national security;
 U.S. defense strategy, defense budgets, and military operations ;
 U.S. foreign assistance programs and international debt relief;
 activities of non-state actors;
 the amount of U.S. attention devoted to ongoing international issues other than the COVID-19 pandemic;
and
 the role of Congress in setting and overseeing the execution of U.S. foreign and defense policy.
Issues for Congress may include whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic could change the international security
environment, whether the Trump Administration’s actions for responding to such change are appropriate and sufficient, and
what implications such change could have for the role of Congress in setting and overseeing the execution of U.S. foreign
and defense policy.
Congress’s decisions regarding these issues could have significant and even profound implications for U.S. foreign and
defense policy, and for the status of Congress as a co-equal branch relative to the executive branch in setting and overseeing
the implementation of U.S. foreign and defense policy.
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Introduction
Some observers argue the COVID-19 pandemic could be a world-changing event with potentially
profound and long-lasting implications for the international security environment and the U.S.
role in the world. Other observers are more skeptical that the COVID-19 pandemic will have such
effects. This report provides a brief overview of some potential implications the COVID-19
pandemic might have for the international security environment and the U.S. role in the world,
and a bibliography of CRS reports and other writings for further reading.
Issues for Congress may include whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic could change the
international security environment, whether the Trump Administration’s actions for responding to
such change are appropriate and sufficient, and what implications such change could have for the
role of Congress in setting and overseeing the execution of U.S. foreign and defense policy.
Congress’s decisions regarding these issues could have significant and even profound
implications for U.S. foreign and defense policy, and for the status of Congress as a co-equal
branch relative to the executive branch in setting and overseeing the implementation of U.S.
foreign and defense policy.
Appendix A presents a list of CRS reports that provide more in-depth discussions of issues
presented in this report. Appendix B presents a list of additional writings reflecting various
perspectives on these issues. A separate CRS report discusses the question of whether the U.S.
role in the world is changing as a result of factors other than the COVID-19 pandemic.1
Overview of Potential Implications
Areas of potential change reflected in writings from observers who view the COVID-19
pandemic as a potentially world-changing event include but are not limited to those discussed
below. Although these areas of potential change are presented separately, they overlap in some
cases and can interact with one another.
World Order, International Institutions, and Global Governance
Some observers have focused on the possibility that the COVID-19 pandemic could cause or
accelerate a decline or erosion in the U.S.-led liberal international order that has operated since
World War II, in the international institutions and norms that contribute to it, and consequently in
global governance.2 A decline or erosion in the U.S.-led liberal order or the international

1 CRS Report R44891, U.S. Role in the World: Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald O'Rourke and Michael
Moodie.
2 For more on the U.S.-led liberal international order and the concept of world order generally, see CRS Report
R44891, U.S. Role in the World: Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald O'Rourke and Michael Moodie. As
discussed in that report, the term international order or world order generally refers in foreign policy discussions to the
collection of organizations, institutions, treaties, rules, norms, and practices that are intended to organize, structure, and
regulate international relations during a given historical period.
Other terms used to refer to the U.S.-led liberal international order include postwar international order, rules-based
international order, and open international order. Observers sometimes substitute world for international, or omit
international or world and refer simply to the liberal order, the U.S.-led order, and so on. In the terms liberal
international order and liberal order, the word liberal does not refer to the conservative-liberal construct often used in
discussing contemporary politics in the United States or other countries. It is, instead, an older use of the term that
refers to an order based on the rule of law, as opposed to an order based on the arbitrary powers of hereditary
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institutions form part of it could set the stage for its replacement by a new or modified world
order reflecting changed rules, norms, and practices, or by a more disorderly world.
U.S. Global Leadership and Role in the World
Some observers have focused on how, in their view, the COVID-19 pandemic is demonstrating
that the United States is maintaining or reasserting its role as global leader, while other observers
suggest that, in their view, the COVID-19 pandemic is demonstrating that the United States has
chosen to withdraw from or is no longer capable of performing that role. The COVID-19
pandemic could influence discussions over the costs and benefits to the United States of acting as
a global leader, not only with respect to global health but across a range of issues. Related to this,
some observers have focused on how the COVID-19 pandemic may be illustrating the strengths
or weaknesses of the Trump Administration’s “America First” approach to the U.S. role in the
world, or the merits of the U.S. system of government and economic model as potential examples
for other countries to emulate.
China’s Potential Role as a Global Leader
Some observers have focused on how the COVID-19 pandemic may be providing insight into
whether China desires and is working to become a global leader on par with (or in the place of)
the United States, whether China has a capacity for doing so, and how other countries might view
China acting in such a role. China’s transparency, particularly regarding its actions in the early
days of its COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, as well as China’s so-called donation diplomacy or
mask diplomacy—meaning China’s actions to send medical supplies and personnel to other
countries, and the highlighting of these actions in statements from China’s government and state-
controlled media—have become new elements of an ongoing discussion regarding China’s
capacity or suitability for acting as a global leader. This ongoing discussion includes
consideration of a range of other issues, including China’s actions for implementing its Belt and
Road Initiative, China’s territorial disputes with other countries, its participation in international
organizations, and its technology-development and international lending activities.
U.S. Relations and Great Power Competition with China
and Russia
Some observers have focused on how the COVID-19 pandemic has become a significant element
in U.S-China relations, and in U.S. great power competition with China and Russia, which the
Trump Administration has placed at the center of its national security construct. For some
observers, the COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity for U.S.-China cooperation on an
important international issue of common interest. For other observers, the COVID-19 pandemic is
a new source of dispute and arena of competition between the two countries, and is causing U.S.-
China relations to harden more fully into a Cold War-like adversarial situation. Some observers
have focused on how the COVID-19 pandemic provides a new factor in the discussion of whether
the United States should decouple its economy from China’s and reduce its dependence on China

monarchs.
Though often referred to as if it is a fully developed or universally established situation, the liberal international order,
like other international orders that preceded it, is incomplete in geographic reach and in other ways; partly aspirational;
not fixed in stone, but rather subject to evolution over time; sometimes violated by its supporters; not entirely free of
might-makes-right behavior; resisted or rejected by certain states and non-state actors; and subject to various stresses
and challenges.
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for key materials and products, including hospital supplies and pharmaceuticals. Some observers
have focused on whether the U.S. and Chinse responses to the COVID-19 pandemic will affect
views around the world regarding the relative merits of the U.S. and Chinese forms of
government and economic models as potential examples to emulate.
Democracy, Authoritarianism, and Autocracy
Related to the point above about forms of government, some observers have focused on how the
COVID-19 pandemic appears to be challenging democratic systems in various countries and
providing national leaders with an opportunity or rationale for taking actions to seize greater
power and move their countries away from democracy and toward authoritarianism or autocracy,
or strengthen or consolidate their already-existing authoritarian or autocratic forms of
government.3 As discussed in another CRS report, a key element of the traditional U.S. role in the
world since World War II has been to defend and promote freedom, democracy, and human rights
as universal values, while criticizing and resisting authoritarian and illiberal forms of government
where and when possible.4
Societal Tension, Reform, and Transformation, and
Governmental Stability
Beyond the specific point above about potential movement toward greater authoritarianism and
autocracy, some observers have focused on the possibility that the COVID-19 pandemic more
generally could cause increased social tensions in certain countries, could lead to (or present
opportunities for) societal reforms and transformations, and could destabilize and perhaps cause
the downfall of governments, akin to the effects of certain past world-changing events, such as
World War I.5 Such changes could alter the political orientations, national strategies, foreign
policies, and defense policies of the countries in which they occur, potentially inducing follow-on
effects among governments and other global actors that interact with those countries.
World Economy, Globalization, and U.S. Trade Policy
Some observers have focused on the possibility that the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to
significant and potentially long-lasting changes to the world economy that in turn could reshape
the international security environment. Among other things, observers have focused on the
possibility that the COVID-19 situation could be leading the world economy into a significant

3 For additional discussion of the issue of the prevalence of democracy and authoritarian or autocratic forms of
government around the world, see CRS Report R45344, Global Trends in Democracy: Background, U.S. Policy, and
Issues for Congress, by Michael A. Weber.
4 See CRS Report R44891, U.S. Role in the World: Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald O'Rourke and
Michael Moodie.
5 For brief discussions of the impacts of World War I on societies and governments, see, for example, Robert Wilde,
“The Consequences of World War I, Political and Social Effects of the War to End All Wars,” ThoughtCo., July 10,
2019; John Horne, “The First World War: the Aftermath, The Years Following the End of the War Were Marked by
More Wars, Political Upheaval and Deep Social Change,” Irish Times, April 24, 2018; Steven Mintz, “Historical
Context: The Global Effect of World War I,” History Now (Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History), undated,
accessed April 16, 2020; Margaret MacMillan, “World War I: The War That Changed Everything,” Wall Street
Journal, June 20, 2014; Steven Erlanger, “The War to End All Wars? Hardly. But It Did Change Them Forever.” New
York Times, June 26, 2020; Jay Winter, “How the Great War Shaped the World,” Atlantic, World War I issue
(September 29, 2014); Kathleen Haley, “100 Years after WWI: The Lasting Impacts of the Great War,” Media, Law &
Policy (Syracuse University), July 28, 2014; “Aftermath of World War I,” Wikipedia, updated April 11, 2020, accessed
April 16, 2020.
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recession—an effect that could contribute to the societal tensions mentioned in the previous point.
Noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced world trade volumes and disrupted global
supply chains, they have focused on the question of whether economic globalization will as a
result be slowed, halted, or reversed. Observers are monitoring how such effects could influence
or be influenced by U.S. trade policy.
Allied Defense Spending and U.S. Alliances
The so-called burden-sharing issue—that is, the question of whether U.S. allies are shouldering a
sufficient share of the collective allied defense burden—has long been a point of contention
between the United States and its allies around the globe, and it has been a matter of particular
emphasis for the Trump Administration. Some observers have focused on the possibility that the
costs that U.S. allies are incurring to support their economies during stay-at-home/lockdown
periods will lead to offsetting reductions in their defense expenditures. Some observers argue that
the NATO allies in Europe in particular may experience contractions in their defense budgets for
this reason. More generally, some observers argue that if the COVID-19 pandemic causes a
global recession, allied defense budgets could be further reduced—a potential impact that could
affect not only NATO allies in Europe, but those in Asia as well.
European Union
Some observers have additionally focused on the question of whether the COVID-19 pandemic is
creating tensions among the European Union member states, particularly in connection with
actions they are taking to close their national borders, and what impact the COVID-19 pandemic
might ultimately have on the cohesion of the European Union.
Definition of, and Budgeting for, U.S. National Security
Some observers have focused on the question of whether the COVID-19 situation will (or should)
lead to a revised definition of U.S. national security, particularly one that is less military-centric
and more focused on what are sometimes called human-security-oriented challenges or global
issues, such as climate change, that are currently more at the periphery of U.S. national security
policy and plans. Such a change in definition could lead to a changed allocation of funding
between the Department of Defense (DOD) and other government agencies that perform national-
security-related tasks, a realignment of resources within DOD between combat-oriented programs
and other programs (such as those related to DOD’s mission of providing defense support of civil
authorities), and perhaps a changed allocation of funding among the agencies other than DOD
that perform national-security-related tasks.
U.S. Defense Strategy, Defense Budget, and Military Operations
Some observers have focused on the question of whether the large federal expenditures being
made in response to the domestic U.S. economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the
impact these expenditures will have on the federal budget deficit and federal debt, could lead to
greater constraints in coming years on U.S. defense spending levels. As a follow-on matter, these
observers are additionally focusing on the question of whether responding to such increased
constraints will (or should) lead to revisions in U.S. defense strategy, changes in U.S. defense
programs, and a reduction or termination of certain overseas U.S. military operations.
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U.S. Foreign Assistance and International Debt Relief
Some observers have focused on the question of whether the COVID-19 pandemic is providing a
new lens through which to measure the value of U.S. foreign assistance and international debt
relief in promoting U.S. interests, particularly in connection with the previously mentioned issue
of whether to revise the definition of U.S. national security to make it less military-centric.
Non-state Actors
Some observers have focused on how non-state actors such as international terrorist and criminal
organizations are reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic, and on how much priority should be given
to countering such actors in the future, particularly in a context of a changed definition of U.S.
national security.
U.S. Attention to International Issues Other than COVID-19
Some observers have focused on whether responding to the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the
time and resources that U.S. leaders and agencies can devote to addressing other international
issues of concern to the United States that predate but continue to exist in parallel with the
COVID-19 pandemic. Administration officials have warned other countries to not take actions
during the COVID-19 pandemic to challenge U.S. interests around the world or otherwise test
U.S. resolve or responsiveness on the thinking that the COVID-19 pandemic is distracting U.S.
officials from other concerns or reducing U.S. capacity for responding to any such challenges.
Role of Congress
At least one observer has focused on the issue of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the
ability of Congress to conduct oversight of the Administration’s foreign policy actions.
Further Reading
For further reading on the issues outlined above, see the CRS reports presented in Appendix A
and the additional writings presented in Appendix B.
Potential Issues for Congress
Potential issues for Congress regarding implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the
international security environment and the U.S. role in the world include but are not limited to the
following:
 Will the COVID-19 pandemic change the international security environment, and
if so, in what ways? How clearly can potential changes be anticipated?
 How should the United States respond to potential changes in the international
security environment arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects,
particularly in light of uncertainty regarding the precise nature and likelihood of
these changes? How might U.S. action or inaction influence or accelerate these
changes?
 What actions is the Administration developing to respond to potential changes in
the international security environment arising from the COVID-19 pandemic?
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Does Congress have sufficient visibility into these actions? Are these actions
appropriate and sufficient? What metrics should Congress use to assess them?
 What implications do potential changes in the international security environment
arising from the COVID-19 pandemic have for the role of Congress in setting
and overseeing the execution of U.S. foreign and defense policy? Is Congress
appropriately organized for maintaining Congress as a co-equal branch of
government relative to the executive branch in addressing these potential
changes? If the COVID-19 pandemic becomes a world-changing event for the
international security environment and the U.S. role in the world, what
implications, if any, might that have for congressional organization and
operations?
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Appendix A. Related CRS Reports
CRS reports that provide more in-depth discussions of specific issues discussed in this report
include the following, which are presented in alphabetical order of their titles:
 CRS In Focus IF11496, COVID-19 and Foreign Assistance: Issues for Congress,
by Nick M. Brown, Marian L. Lawson, and Emily M. Morgenstern.
 CRS Insight IN11288, COVID-19 and the Defense Industrial Base: DOD
Response and Legislative Considerations, by Heidi M. Peters.
 CRS Insight IN11279, COVID-19 and U.S. Iran Policy, by Kenneth Katzman.
 CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10424, COVID-19: An Overview of Trade-Related
Measures to Address Access to Medical Goods, by Nina M. Hart.
 CRS Report R46304, COVID-19: China Medical Supply Chains and Broader
Trade Issues, coordinated by Karen M. Sutter.
 CRS Insight IN11305, COVID-19: Defense Support of Civil Authorities, by
Lawrence Kapp and Alan Ott.
 CRS In Focus IF11421, COVID-19: Global Implications and Responses, by Sara
M. Tharakan et al.
 CRS Insight IN11280, COVID-19: Industrial Mobilization and Defense
Production Act (DPA) Implementation, by Michael H. Cecire and Heidi M.
Peters.
 CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10436, COVID-19: International Trade and Access to
Pharmaceutical Products, by Nina M. Hart.
 CRS In Focus IF11434, COVID-19: U.S.-China Economic Considerations, by
Karen M. Sutter and Michael D. Sutherland.
 CRS Report R46270, Global Economic Effects of COVID-19, coordinated by
James K. Jackson.
 CRS In Focus IF11480, Overview: The Department of Defense and COVID-19,
coordinated by Kathleen J. McInnis.
 CRS Insight IN11231, The Defense Production Act (DPA) and COVID-19: Key
Authorities and Policy Considerations, by Michael H. Cecire and Heidi M.
Peters.
 CRS Insight IN11337, The Defense Production Act (DPA) and the COVID-19
Pandemic: Recent Developments and Policy Considerations, by Michael H.
Cecire and Heidi M. Peters.
 CRS Insight IN11325, U.S. Travel and Tourism and COVID-19, by Michaela D.
Platzer.
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Appendix B. Additional Writings
In presenting sources of additional reading, this appendix includes some examples of writings
reflecting various perspectives on the potential implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the
international security environment and the U.S. role in the world, organized by specific themes or
topics. Within each section, the items are presented in chronological order, with the most recent
on top.
General/Multitopic
Andrew Ehrhardt, “Disease and Diplomacy in the 19th Century,” War on the Rocks, April 30,
2019.
Dmitri K. Simes, “The Perfect Storm,” National Interest, April 24, 2020.
Fred Kaplan, “What Happens if Oil Doesn’t Recover? If Demand Doesn’t Pick Up This Summer,
We Could See Major Shifts in Global Power,” Slate, April 23, 2020.
Barry R. Posen, “Do Pandemics Promote Peace? Why Sickness Slows the March to War,”
Foreign Affairs, April 23, 2020.
Joseph Cirincione, “How to Prevent War During the Coronavirus Pandemic, How Will the
Coronavirus Threaten Global Peace?” National Interest, April 22, 2020.
Frank Hoffman, “An American Perspective on Post-Pandemic Geopolitics,” RUSI, April 20,
2020.
Gordon Bardos, “Will the Coronavirus Crisis Force America to Look in the Mirror and Reform?”
National Interest, April 18, 2020.
Nicholas Eberstadt, “The “New Normal”: Thoughts about the Shape of Things to Come in the
Post-Pandemic World,” National Bureau of Asian Research, April 18, 2020.
Steve Coll, “Woodrow Wilson’s Case of the Flu, and How Pandemics Change History,” New
Yorker, April 17, 2020.
Jackson Diehl, “The Pandemic Is Killing Truth, Too,” Washington Post, April 12, 2020.
Edith M. Lederer, “UN Chief Warns COVID-19 Threatens Global Peace and Security,”
Associated Press, April 10, 2020.
Stratfor Worldview, “How the Coronavirus Pandemic Is Changing the World—and the Future,”
National Interest, April 4, 2020.
Daniel W. Drezner, “The Most Counterintuitive Prediction about World Politics and the
Coronavirus, What If Nothing Changes?” Washington Post, March 30, 2020.
Ali Demirdas, “Western Values May Not Survive the Coronavirus. European Unity and American
Military Power Just Haven’t Held Up,” National Interest, March 28, 2020.
John Allen et al., “How the World Will Look after the Coronavirus Pandemic,” Foreign Policy,
March 20, 2020. (Includes short contributions from 12 authors.)
Maxine Whittaker, “How Infectious Diseases Have Shaped Our Culture, Habits and Language,”
The Conversation, July 12, 2017.
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World Order, International Institutions, and Global Governance
Rebecca Wolfe and Hilary Matfess Sunday, “COVID and Cooperation: The Latest Canary in the
Coal Mine,” Lawfare, May 3, 2020.
Joshua Keating, “The Decline of the Nation-State, Trump’s War with the Governors Hints at a
New Political Order,” Foreign Policy, April 29, 2020.
Yukon Huang and Jeremy Smith, “Pandemic Response Reflects Unlearned Lessons of U.S.-China
Trade War,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 27, 2020.
Mihir Sharma, “Diplomacy Is Another Victim of the Virus,” Bloomberg, April 26, 2020.
Brahma Chellaney, “The WHO Has Failed the World in its Pandemic Response,” Strategist
(Australian Strategic Policy Institute), April 23, 2020.
William C. Danvers, “The World Bank steps up its role in fighting for the future,” The Hill, April
22, 2020.
Eric A. Posner, “The Limits of the World Health Organization,” Lawfare, April 21, 2020.
Amitav Acharya, “How Coronavirus May Reshape the World Order,” National Interest, April 18,
2020.
Joseph S. Nye Jr., “No, the Coronavirus Will Not Change the Global Order,” Foreign Policy,
April 16, 2020.
Karen DeYoung and Liz Sly, “Global Institutions Are Flailing in the Face of the Pandemic,”
Washington Post, April 15, 2020.
Colin H. Kahl and Ariana Berengaut, “Aftershocks: The Coronavirus Pandemic and the New
World Disorder,” War on the Rocks, April 10, 2020.
Lanhee J. Chen, “Lost in Beijing: The Story of the WHO, China Broke the World Health
Organization. The U.S. Has to Fix It or Leave and Start Its Own Group,” Wall Street Journal,
April 8, 2020.
Colum Lynch, “Can the United Nations Survive the Coronavirus? In the Absence of U.S.
Leadership, the U.N. Is Struggling to Carve Out a Role in the Face of What May Be the Greatest
Threat Since Its Founding,” Foreign Policy, April 8, 2020.
Timofey V. Bordachev, “Visions Of The Post-Coronavirus World: Russian Expert On Europe
Bordachev: The Liberal World Order Will Not Survive,” MEMRI, April 6, 2020.
Matthew Lee and Edith M. Lederer, “Global Diplomacy Under the Gun in The Time of
Ccoronavirus,” Associated Press, April 4, 2020.
Thomas Wright, “Stretching the International Order to Its Breaking Point, The Greatest Error
That Geopolitical Analysts Can Make May Be Believing That the Crisis Will Be Over in Three to
Four Months,” Atlantic, April 4, 2020.
Henry A. Kissinger, “The Coronavirus Pandemic Will Forever Alter the World Order,” Wall Street
Journal, April 3, 2020.
Ryan Broderick, “After The Coronavirus Passes, Your World Will Not Go Back To Normal,
Before the Pandemic Began, the Systems That Govern Our World Were Brittle. Today, They Are
Broken. When We Emerge, the World Will Be Different, and So Will We,” Buzzfeed News, April
2, 2020.
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Rick Gladstone, “U.N. Security Council ‘Missing In Action’ in Coronavirus Fight,” New York
Times, April 2, 2020.
Ian Goldin and Robert Muggah, “End of International Cooperation? How Coronavirus Has
Changed the World Permanently,” National Interest, March 31, 2020.
U.S. Global Leadership and Role in World
Anne Applebaum, “The Rest of the World Is Laughing at Trump, The President Created a
Leadership Vacuum. China Intends to Fill It,” Atlantic, May 3, 2020.
Charlotte Klein, “Trump’s ‘America First’ Mentality May Hamper Global Race For Coronavirus
Vaccine,” Vanity Fair, May 3, 2020.
Nahal Toosi and Natasha Bertrand, “Fears Rise that Trump Will Incite a Global Vaccine Brawl,
The President’s ‘America First’ Philosophy Courts Disaster for Entire Regions of the World,
Diplomats Warn,” Politico, May 3, 2020.
Kori Schake, “America’s Built-in Protection Against Bad Leadership, For All Its Failures, the
U.S. Has Structural Advantages Over Rival Powers—and Will Come Out of the Pandemic Even
Stronger,” Atlantic, May 1, 2020.
Colum Lynch, “WHO Becomes Battleground as Trump Chooses Pandemic Confrontation Over
Cooperation,” Foreign Policy, April 29, 2020.
J. Stephen Morrison and Anna Carroll, “WHO and President Trump on the Ledge,” Center for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), April 28, 2020.
Jeffrey Becker, “COVID-19 Offers a Golden Opportunity to Reengage with the Indo-Pacific,”
Defense One, April 27, 2020.
Joseph S. Nye, “How COVID-19 Is Testing American Leadership,” East Asia Forum, April 26,
2020.
By John Hudson, Josh Dawsey, and Souad Mekhennet, “Trump Expands Battle with WHO Far
Beyond Aid Suspension,” Washington Post, April 25, 2020.
Katrin Bennhold, “‘Sadness’ and Disbelief From a World Missing American Leadership,” New
York Times, April 23, 2020.
David Brunnstrom and Humeyra Pamuk, “Pompeo Says U.S. May Never Restore WHO Funds
after Cutoff over Pandemic,” Reuters, April 23, 2020.
Julianne Smith and Garima Mohan, “In a Crisis, a Fumbling America Confirms Europe’s Worst
Fears,” War on the Rocks, April 23, 2020.
Luke Allen, “Why Trump Defunded the WHO,” National Interest, April 20, 2020.
Yu-Jie Chen and Jerome A. Cohen, “Trump Is Right That the WHO Has a China Problem.
Cutting Funding Isn’t the Answer,” Diplomat, April 20, 2020.
Jeffrey Cimmino, “Trump Should Be Tough On the WHO – And Recommit to Strengthening
Global Health Security,” National Interest, April 19, 2020.
Brett D. Schaefer, “The World Health Organization Messed Up—But Don't Defund Them,”
National Interest, April 16, 2020.
Salvatore Babones, “Donald Trump Is Right To Dump the WHO,” National Interest, April 15,
2020.
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Kevin Baron, “Don’t Be Fooled. Trump’s Cuts to WHO Aren’t About the Coronavirus,” Defense
One, April 15, 2020.
Bonnie Kristian, “The Coronavirus Shows How US ‘Diplomacy’ Is Anything But, Absolutist,
America-First Approaches Isolate Us and Make Us Less Safe,” Defense One, April 15, 2020.
Eli Lake, “Trump Is Punishing the WHO for China’s Deceptions,” Bloomberg, April 15, 2020.
Thomas R. Pickering and Atman Trivedi, “America First? The Coronavirus Couldn’t Care Less,”
Foreign Policy, April 15, 2020.
Emily Rauhala, “Trump’s Critique of WHO May Be a Diversion, But It Resonates Beyond the
White House,” Washington Post, April 15, 2020.
Steve Holland, “Trump to Convene G7 Leaders in Video Call to Discuss Pandemic,” Reuters,
April 14, 2020.
Fred Kaplan, “The End of American Leadership, The Coronavirus Pandemic May Mark the Final
Shift of Global Power Away from the United States,” Slate, April 13, 2020.
Michael Shoebridge, “Why America Will Emerge Stronger From the Coronavirus Crisis,”
National Interest, April 12, 2020.
Bill Ong Hing, “Trump Has Achieved His Goal of Abolishing Asylum, The Pandemic Has Added
One More Insurmountable Hurdle for Asylum Seekers,” Slate, April 10, 2020.
Michèle A. Flournoy and Lisa O. Monaco, “Now’s Not the Time for Isolationism, Countries
Need to Work Together to Fight Coronavirus, and the U.S. Should Step Up to Lead Those Efforts,
Not Back Off From Them,” Politico, April 8, 2020.
Todd Prince, “Pompeo Touts U.S. Foreign Help Against Pandemic As Trump Threatens WHO
Funding,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, April 8, 2020.
Joe Buccino, “The US Must Lead the World Out of This, If the Coronavirus Pandemic Only
Causes Us to Look Inward, China Wins,” Defense One, April 7, 2020.
Helle C. Dale, “Even in Pandemic, America Still the Global Leader,” Heritage Foundation, April
7, 2020.
John Pomfret, “Does the Future Still Belong to the U.S. and China?” Washington Post, April 7,
2020.
Robert B. Zoellick, “The World Is Watching How America Handles Coronavirus, The Trump
Administration Has Failed to Convey An Impression of Strong International Leadership,” Wall
Street Journal, April 7, 2020.
Ted Anthony, “After Virus, How Will Americans’ View of the World Change?” Washington Post,
April 6, 2020.
William J. Burns, “A Make-or-Break Test for American Diplomacy, The Post-Pandemic World
Will Pose a Massive Test for U.S. Statecraft, the Biggest Since the End of the Cold War,”
Atlantic, April 6, 2020.
Victor Davis Hanson, “Don’t Be Fooled: Trump Is Leading the World Against Coronavirus,”
National Interest, April 5, 2020.
Lara Jakes, “When the Face of America Falls Ill: A Virus’s Toll on Diplomats,” New York Times,
April 4, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Nahal Toosi, “‘Lord of the Flies: PPE Edition’: U.S. Cast As Culprit in Global Scrum Over
Coronavirus Supplies,” Politico, April 3, 2020.
Stephen M. Walt, “The United States Can Still Win the Coronavirus Pandemic,” Foreign Policy,
April 3, 2020.
Susan B. Glasser, “The Coronavirus Is the World’s Only Superpower, Trump’s America? Not so
Much,” New Yorker, April 2, 2020.
Robbie Gramer and Colum Lynch, “In Global Leadership Void on Pandemic, Critics Ask:
Where’s Pompeo?” Foreign Policy, April 2, 2020.
Ash Jain, “Trump Just Missed a Perfect Opportunity to Reassert American Leadership, The G-20
helped beat Ebola. Why can’t it do the same for the coronavirus?” Foreign Policy, April 2, 2020.
Adam Tooze, “America Is Ailing—and Leading the World, The Coronavirus Pandemic Has Been
a Humiliation for the United States—and Confirmation of Its Unmatched International Power,”
Foreign Policy, April 1, 2020.
Robert C. Rubel, “Canary In The Coal Mine: The US Navy’s Dilemmas As An Indication Of A
Culminating Point In National Grand Strategy,” Journal of Political Risk, April 2020.
Doug Bandow, “Donald Trump Needs to Focus on Coronavirus (Not Fighting with China and the
EU),” National Interest, March 30, 2020.
Walter Russell Mead, “U.S. Leadership Will Survive Coronavirus,” Wall Street Journal, March
30, 2020.
Michael Rubin, “Washington Post’s Broadside against Mike Pompeo Is Wildly Unfair,”
Washington Examiner, March 30, 2020. (Responds to the March 29, 2020, writing below by
Jackson Diehl.)
Jeff M. Smith, “How America Is Leading the ‘Quad Plus’ Group of Seven Countries in Fighting
the Coronavirus,” National Interest, March 30, 2020.
Jackson Diehl, “Pompeo’s Pandemic Performance Ensures His Place Among the Worst
Secretaries of State Ever,” Washington Post, March 29, 2020. (For a response, see the March 30,
2020, writing above by Michael Rubin.)
Brett McGurk, “America Should Build an International Coalition Now; The United States Has an
Urgent Interest in Filling the Global Leadership Void During This Stateless Scourge,” Atlantic,
March 29, 2020.
Ted Galen Carpenter, “Donald Trump Offered to Help North Korea on Coronavirus. Why Not
Iran?” National Interest, March 27, 2020.
Paul R. Pillar, “Donald Trump’s Nationalist Response to the Coronavirus,” National Interest,
March 26, 2020.
Kevin Baron, “Trump Could Have Led the World Against the Coronavirus,” Defense One, March
25, 2020.
Editorial Board, “The Coronavirus Pandemic May Mark a Decline in U.S. Leadership,”
Washington Post, March 23, 2020.
Stephen M. Walt, “The Death of American Competence, Washington’s Reputation for Expertise
Has Been One of the Greatest Sources of Its Power. The Coronavirus Pandemic May End It for
Good,” Foreign Policy, March 23, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Ronald E. Neumann and Marc Grossman, “More US Diplomats Need to Be Overseas to Best
Serve America,” The Hill, March 22, 2020.
Steven Erlanger, “Another Virus Victim: The U.S. as a Global Leader in a Time of Crisis,” New
York Times, March 20 (updated March 22), 2020.
Kori Schake, “The Damage That ‘America First’ Has Done,” Atlantic, March 20, 2020.
Daniel B. Baer, “The Virus Has Exposed the Recklessness of Trump’s ‘America First,’” Foreign
Policy, March 18, 2020.
China’s Potential Role as a Global Leader
“Exclusive: Internal Chinese Report Warns Beijing Faces Tiananmen-like Global Backlash Over
Virus,” Reuters, May 4, 2020. (This article does not list an author.)
Steven Erlanger, “Global Backlash Builds Against China Over Coronavirus,” New York Times,
May 3, 2020.
Lara Marlowe, “Europe’s Relationship with China Is Now One of Mistrust and Hostility,” Irish
Times, May 2, 2020.
Joel Gehrke, “US Allies Move Toward Trump, Demanding Coronavirus Investigation Despite
Chinese Threats,” Washington Examiner, May 1, 2020.
Minxin Pei, “China's Expensive Bet on Africa Has Failed, Coronavirus Crash in Commodity
Prices Has Wasted $200 Billion in Investment and Loans,” Nikkei Asian Review, May 1, 2020.
Matt Apuzzo, “Top E.U. Diplomat Says Disinformation Report Was Not Watered Down for
China,” New York Times, April 30, 2020.
James Griffiths, “China’s Model of Control Has Been Blamed for the Coronavirus Crisis, But for
Some It’s Looking Increasingly Attractive,” CNN, April 29, 2020.
Tanvi Madan et al., “China’s Neighbors Face a Belligerent Post-Pandemic Beijing, Experts
Discuss the Regional Fallout of the Coronavirus Crisis,” Foreign Policy, April 29, 2020.
William Brent, “Generosity Is an Easy Win for China After the Coronavirus Pandemic,” Foreign
Policy, April 28, 2020.
Damien Cave and Amy Qin, “China Mounts Aggressive Defense to Calls for Coronavirus
Compensation,” New York Times, April 28, 2020.
Mark Magnier, “China Is Overreaching in Bid for Greater Global Influence Amid Coronavirus
Pandemic, US Advisers Say,” South China Morning Post, April 28, 2020.
Shi Jiangtao, “Coronavirus: They’re Only Answering Xi Jinping’s Call but Are China’s ‘Wolf
Warrior’ Diplomats Doing More Harm than Good?” South China Morning Post, April 27, 2020.
Richard Javad Heydarian, “The Coming China Backlash, There Is a Pent-up Volcano of Rage
Against the Chinese Regime for Its Reckless Coverup of a Devouring Pandemic,” National
Interest, April 25, 2020.
Keith B. Richburg, “After Coronavirus, China’s Relations With the World Will Never Be the
Same,” National Interest, April 25, 2020.
Jerry Dunleavy, “‘Xi Jinping’s Chernobyl’: Experts Say Chinese Disinformation Aims to Distract
World from Coronavirus Failures,” Washington Examiner, April 23, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

David Ignatius, “The World Will Demand Answers on COVID-19 Until China Explains What
Happened,” Washington Post, April 23, 2020.
Veerle Nouwens, “China and the Coronavirus Pandemic: Internal Doubts, External Mistakes,”
RUSI, April 23, 2020.
Austin Bay, “On Point: The COVID-19 Debacle Previews the Chinese Communist Party’s
Imperial World Order,” Strategy Page, April 22, 2020.
Frederic Puglie, “China to the Rescue: ‘Mask Diplomacy’ Aims to Win Allies in Latin America,”
Washington Times, April 22, 2020.
Robert A. Manning, “Why China Will Be the Biggest COVID-19 Loser,” The Hill, April 21,
2020.
Daniel R. DePetris, “China’s Great Pandemic Gamble,” National Interest, April 20, 2020.
Charles Dunst, “Beijing’s Propaganda Is Finding Few Takers,” Foreign Policy, April 20, 2020.
Jamil Anderlini, “Why China is Losing the Coronavirus Narrative,” Financial Times, April 19,
2020.
Steven Lee Myers, “China’s Aggressive Diplomacy Weakens Xi Jinping’s Global Standing,” New
York Times, April 17 (updated April 20), 2020.
Maria Repnikova, “Does China’s Propaganda Work? The Communist Party’s Messaging Is Both
More Agile and More Fragile Than It Seems,” New York Times, April 16, 2020.
Charles Dunst, “How China’s Mask Diplomacy Backfired,” American Interest, April 15, 2020.
Michael Green and Evan S. Medeiros, “The Pandemic Won’t Make China the World’s Leader,
Few Countries Are Buying the Model or the Message From Beijing,” Foreign Affairs, April 15,
2020.
Gerry Shih, “China’s Bid to Repair Its Coronavirus-hit Image Is Backfiring in the West,”
Washington Post, April 14, 2020.
Dusan Stojanovic, “China’s ‘Mask Diplomacy’ Wins Support in Eastern Europe,” Associated
Press, April 14, 2020.
Mohammed Ayoob, “How the Coronavirus Could Undercut China’s Global Standing,” National
Interest, April 13, 2020.
Chi Wang, “How China Is Losing the World’s Trust Following Its Cover-up of the Coronavirus
Crisis,” South China Morning Post, April 13, 2020.
Nick Crawford and David Gordon, “China Confronts Major Risk of Debt Crisis on the Belt and
Road Due to Pandemic,” Diplomat, April 10, 2020.
John Pomfret, “Does the Future Still Belong to the U.S. and China?” Washington Post, April 7,
2020.
Plamen Tonchev, “The Belt and Road After COVID-19,” Diplomat, April 7, 2020.
Bradley A. Thayer and Lianchao Han, “The Consequences of the Pandemic for China and the
World,” National Interest, April 4, 2020.
Edward Lucas, “China Was Once the Cradle of the Coronavirus Pandemic But It Has Bounced
Back with Astonishing Speed, Writes Edward Lucas As He Reveals the Country May Have Won
the War for Global Supremacy As Well,” Daily Mail (UK), April 3, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Philip Wen and Drew Hinshaw, “China Asserts Claim to Global Leadership, Mask by Mask,”
Wall Street Journal, April 1, 2020.
Zack Beauchamp, “The Myth of Authoritarian Coronavirus Supremacy,” Vox, March 26, 2020.
Mark Hannah, “Will America’s Coronavirus Response Inspire Countries to Follow China’s
Model?” National Interest, March 24, 2020.
Dan Blumenthal, “Donald Trump’s China Problem Has Arrived,” National Interest, March 23,
2020.
Azeem Ibrahim, “China’s Debt Diplomacy Will Get a Coronavirus Boost,” Foreign Policy,
March 23, 2020.
Yang Jiang, “China’s Moment of Vindication,” Danish Institute for International Studies, March
20, 2020.
Morten Soendergaard Larsen and Robbie Gramer, “China Casts Itself as Global Savior While
U.S. and EU Focus on Virus at Home,” Foreign Policy, March 19, 2020.
Bradley A. Thayer and Lianchao Han, “China’s Coronavirus Plan: Create a ‘Silk Road’ of Health
Care Leading Towards World Dominance,” National Interest, March 19, 2020.
Alan Crawford and Peter Martin, “China Showers Europe With Virus Aid While Sparring With
Trump,” Bloomberg, March 19, 2020.
U.S. Relations and Great Power Competition with China and
Russia
David Wertime, “‘Not the World’s Number One’: Chinese Social Media Piles On the U.S.,”
Politico, May 4, 2020.
John Lee, “US-China Economic Distancing in the Era of Great Power Rivalry and COVID-19,”
United States Studies Centre, May 4, 2020.
Humeyra Pamuk and Andrea Shalal, “Trump Administration Pushing to Rip Global Supply
Chains from China: Officials,” Reuters, May 4, 2020.
David Wertime, “‘Not the World’s Number One’: Chinese Social Media Piles On the U.S.,”
Politico, May 4, 2020.
Claudia Rosett, “China Is Exploiting the Coronavirus Chaos to Advance Its Agenda, President Xi
Wants China at the Center of a New Global Order,” Dallas Morning News, May 3, 2020.
Walter Lohman James Jay Carafano, “Here Are Ten Ways To Beat China Over Coronavirus,”
National Interest, May 2, 2020.
Ahmed Charai, “How COVID-19 Changes Trump’s China Card,” National Interest, May 1, 2020.
Bonnie Kristian, “‘Maximum Pressure’ on China Is No Solution to a Pandemic,” Defense News,
May 1, 2020.
Dalibor Rohac, “The Kremlin’s Tried-and-True Formula for Tough Times: Look for Enemies
Abroad,” Washington Post, May 1, 2020.
Alex Ward, “Pressure Mounts on Trump to ‘Drop the Hammer’ on China,” Vox, May 1, 2020.
Edward Wong and Ana Swanson, “Some Trump Officials Take Harder Actions on China During
Pandemic,” New York Times, May 1, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Joseph Bosco, “The Post-Pandemic New Order in US-China Relations,” The Hill, April 30, 2020.
Chuck DeVore, “In a Bid to Weaken America, China Extends a Hand to the States | Opinion,”
Newsweek, April 30, 2020.
Editorial Board, “China has turned to bullying to avoid accountability. It may be working on
Europe,” Washington Post, April 30, 2020.
Mathew Ha and Alice Cho, “China’s Coronavirus Disinformation Campaigns Are Integral to Its
Global Information Warfare Strategy,” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, April 30, 2020.
Jeff Stein, Carol D. Leonnig, Josh Dawsey, and Gerry Shih, “U.S. Officials Crafting Retaliatory
Actions Against China Over Coronavirus as President Trump Fumes,” Washington Post, April 30,
2020.
Peter B. Walker, “Shift in Mindset Needed So US Can Work with China to Tackle Coronavirus
Pandemic and Other Global Issues,” South China Morning Post, April 30, 2020.
Joyu Wang and Rachel Yeo, “China Takes Harder Line on Hong Kong Amid Coronavirus Protest
Lull,” Wall Street Journal, April 30, 2020.
George Barros, Nataliya Bugayova, and Mason Clark, “Russia in Review: Kremlin Misdirection
Continues Amid COVID and Peace Processes,” Institute for the Study of War, April 29, 2020.
Alan Boyd, “China Drops a Covid-19 Gauntlet on Australia,” Asia Times, April 29, 2020.
Lewis Libbby,, “To Confront China After Coronavirus, We Must See the Bigger Picture,”
National Review, April 29, 2020.
Kinling Lo and Sarah Zheng, “Who Is Winning the China-US Race to Run the World Amid the
Covid-19 pandemic?” South China Morning Post, April 29, 2020.
Clifford D. May, “How our enemies are handling the pandemic, They’re Staying Focused on
Their Missions and Doing Just Fine,” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, April 29, 2020.
Fu Ying, “Fu Ying on Why China and America Must Co-operate to Defeat COVID-19,”
Economist, April 29, 2020.
Damien Cave and Amy Qin, “China Mounts Aggressive Defense to Calls for Coronavirus
Compensation,” New York Times, April 28, 2020.
Alex Ward, “How China Is Ruthlessly Exploiting the Coronavirus Pandemic It Helped Cause,”
Vox, April 28, 2020.
Shi Jiangtao, “Coronavirus infects China-US relations as blame game over pandemic intensifies,”
South China Morning Post, April 27, 2020.
Emily Rauhala, “Trump’s WHO Funding Freeze During Coronavirus Pandemic Gives China an
Opening to Expand Its Influence,” Washington Post, April 27, 2020.
Patrick Mendis and Dominique Reichenbach, “Will the Trump White House Make China Great
Again in a Post-Pandemic Era?” National Interest, April 27, 2020.
James Traub, “The Future Is Asian—but Not Chinese, A Post-pandemic Cold War Is Developing
between the United States and China—but Both Sides Are Losing the Ideological Fight,” Foreign
Policy, April 27, 2020.
Eric Farnsworth, “China’s Coronavirus Play in the Americas,” National Interest, April 26, 2020.
Yasmeen Serhan and Kathy Gilsinan, “Can the West Actually Ditch China?” Atlantic, April 24,
2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Javed Ali and A'ndre Ggonawela, “Dueling COVID-19 Blame Narratives Deepen US-China
Rift,” The Hill, April 23, 2020.
Alexander Gabuev, “The Pandemic Could Tighten China’s Grip on Eurasia,” Foreign Policy,
April 23, 2020.
Ralph Peters, “China Lies, China Kills, China Wins,” Hoover Institution, April 23, 2020.
Josh Rogin, “The Coronavirus Crisis Shows the Risks of Scientific Collaboration with China,”
Washington Post, April 23, 2020.
Peter Suciu, “Are America and China Headed Towards a South China Sea Showdown? Is Beijing
Trying to Push Forward on Its Maritime Claims While the World is Battling Coronavirus?”
National Interest, April 23, 2020.
John Vandiver, “Coronavirus Pandemic Leads to Spike in Disinformation Directed at US, NATO
in Europe,” Stars and Stripes, April 23, 2020.
Hal Brands, “Modest Multilateralism Is in America’s Interest—and China’s Too, The Crisis Has
Highlighted the Need for More Global Cooperation, but Let’s Not Get Carried Away,”
Bloomberg, April 22, 2020.
James Green, “China and the United States Are Both Losing the Blame Game,” Foreign Policy,
April 22, 2020.
Laura Rosenberger, “China’s Coronavirus Information Offensive, Beijing Is Using New Methods
to Spin the Pandemic to Its Advantage,” Foreign Affairs, April 22, 2020.
Edward Wong, Matthew Rosenberg, and Julian E. Barnes, “Chinese Agents Helped Spread
Messages That Sowed Virus Panic in U.S., Officials Say,” New York Times, April 22, 2020.
Dean Cheng, “China, COVID-19 and 5G; Golden Opportunity For The West,” Breaking Defense,
April 21, 2020.
Gregory R. Copley, “China Is Waging A New Kind Of War Against The U.S.,” Oil Price, April
21, 2020.
Alan Crawford and Peter Martin, “China’s Coronavirus Diplomacy Has Finally Pushed Europe
Too Far,” Bloomberg, April 21, 2020.
Jessica Donati, “U.S. Adversaries Are Accelerating, Coordinating Coronavirus Disinformation,
Report Says,” Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2020.
John Grady, “COVID-19 Pandemic Giving China a Firmer Foothold in Europe,” USNI News,
April 21, 2020.
Hollie McKay, “China Ups Its Spy Game on US Soil as It Bids to Control Coronavirus
Narrative,” Fox News, April 21, 2020.
Hannah Roberts, “Moscow’s Coronavirus Offensive,” Politico, April 21, 2020.
Betsy Woodruff Swan, “State Report: Russian, Chinese, and Iranian Disinformation Narratives
Echoing Each Other,” Politico Pro, April 21, 2020.
Yew Lun Tian, Ben Blanchard, “China Rattles Sabres as World Battles Coronavirus Pandemic,”
Reuters, April 21, 2020.
Riley Walters and Dean Cheng, “How to Hold China Accountable for COVID-19,” Heritage
Foundation, April 21, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Tim Ahmann, David Brunnstrom, and Julie Steenhuysen, “Update 1-China May Be Keeping
Coronavirus Data for Commercial Gain—Trump Adviser,” Reuters, April 20, 2020.
James Jay Carafano, “The Great U.S.-China Divorce Has Arrived,” National Interest, April 20,
2020.
Charles Lane, “This Crisis Has Taught Us the True Cost of Doing Business with China,”
Washington Post, April 20, 2020.
Klaus W. Larres, “China Turns on the Charm and Angers Trump as it Eyes a Global Opportunity
in Coronavirus Crisis,” The Conversation, April 20, 2020.
John Lee, “Beijing Still Has a Way to Go in Battle for Power,” United States Studies Centre,
April 20, 2020.
Bradley A. Thayer and Lianchao Han, “Kissinger’s Folly: The Threat to World Order is China,”
The Hill, April 19, 2020.
Ashley Townshend and Matilda Steward, “Coronavirus Crisis Shows Both China and the US
Aren’t Equipped to Lead the World,” United States Studies Centre, April 19, 2020.
James Holmes, “How Donald Trump Should Make China Pay for Coronavirus,” National
Interest, April 18, 2020.
Cleo Paskal, “World Tries to Shake Off Its Dangerous China Addiction,” Sunday Guardian, April
18, 2020.
Daniel P. Vajdich, “The Geopolitical Cost of Battling the Coronavirus Separately (China Will
Win),” National Interest, April 18, 2020.
Robbie Gramer, “NATO Chief Rebukes China Over Coronavirus Disinformation,” Foreign
Policy, April 17, 2020.
Jeffery A. Green, “Stop China’s Predatory Investments Before the US Becomes Its Next Victim,”
Defense News, April 17, 2020.
Fred Kaplan, “The China Problem, The Chinese Government Bears Some Responsibility for the
Pandemic, But We Still Need Its Help to Fight the Virus,” Slate, April 17, 2020.
Abraham Denmark, Charles Edel, and Siddharth Mohandas, “Same as It Ever Was: China’s
Pandemic Opportunism on Its Periphery,” War on the Rocks, April 16, 2020.
“Is China winning? The geopolitical consequences of covid-19 will be subtle, but unfortunate,”
Economist, April 16, 2020. (This article does not list an author.)
Elisabeth Braw, “China Is Bargain Hunting—and Western Security Is at Risk, Beijing Could Use
the Coronavirus-Induced Economic Crisis to Go on a Buying Spree. The U.S. and European
Governments Must Restrict the Purchasing of Distressed Companies in Sensitive Sectors,”
Foreign Policy, April 15, 2020.
Kristine Lee, “It’s Not Just the WHO: How China Is Moving on the Whole U.N., Despite His
Saber-Rattling, Trump’s Pullback Actually Helps Beijing in its New, Inside-Baseball Strategy to
Build Influence,” Politico, April 15, 2020.
James Palmer, “Why Chinese Embassies Have Embraced Aggressive Diplomacy, Beijing Is
Trying to Maintain Its Narrative as Diplomats Spread Misinformation About the Rest of the
World’s Coronavirus response,” Foreign Policy, April 15, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Salvatore Babones, “In the Post-Coronavirus World, Chinese Power is Overrated, A Global
Resurgence in National Self-Reliance Might Actually Be a Good Thing for America’s Place in the
World,” Foreign Policy, April 14, 2020.
Martijn Rasser, “Technology Alliances Will Help Shape Our Post-Pandemic future,” C4ISRnet,
April 14, 2020.
John Lee Cheong Seong, “Beijing Tried to Use the Coronavirus Crisis to Enhance Its Global
Standing. It’s not working; Despite American Errors and Poor Leadership, the Pandemic Only
Proves That the Foundations of Underlying Strength Are Still Solid for the United States and
Fragile for China,” South China Morning Post, April 14, 2020.
Brian Whitmore, “Quarantining Sanctions, A Kremlin Diplomatic Gambit Exploits the
Pandemic,” Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), April 14, 2020.
Edward Wong and Paul Mozur, “China’s ‘Donation Diplomacy’ Raises Tensions With U.S.,” New
York Times, April 14, 2020.
Jack Detsch, “U.S. Official: Beware of Chinese Leaders Bearing Coronavirus Gifts,” Foreign
Policy, April 13, 2020.
Grant Newsham, “America Takes On The Coronavirus: Is Chinese Help Needed?” And
Magazine, April 13, 2020.
Isabelle Khurshudyan, “Russia’s State-backed Media Uses the Pandemic to Spin Anti-Western
Views. They Are Not Alone,” Washington Post, April 12, 2020.
Chen Yun-yu and Emerson Lim, “U.S., China Stepping Up Military Messaging Amid Pandemic:
Analysts,” Focus Taiwan, April 12, 2020.
Renée DiResta, “For China, the ‘USA Virus’ Is a Geopolitical Ploy,” Atlantic, April 11, 2020.
Lee Drake, “What the Trump Administration Needs to Learn from the Plague that Destroyed
Athens,” National Interest, April 11, 2020.
Bradley A. Thayer Lianchao Han, “China Is Using The Coronavirus Crisis To Gain Political
Capital Against America,” National Interest, April 11, 2020.
Bradley A. Thayer Lianchao Han, “China’s Coronavirus Weapon: How Beijing Plans to Leverage
the Global Supply Chain,” National Interest, April 11, 2020.
Philip Citowicki, “COVID-19 Escalates the China-Australia Contest in the Pacific,” Diplomat,
April 10, 2020.
Catie Edmondson, “China Hawks in Congress See an Opportunity in Coronavirus,” New York
Times, April 10 (updated April 14), 2020.
Ryan Girdusky, “Bad Ideology, Not Bad Leadership, Caused Our China Problem,” Washington
Examiner, April 9, 2020.
Alireza Ahmadi, “The Trump Era Has Created a New Challenge for China,” National Interest,
April 8, 2020.
Keith B. Alexander and Jamil N. Jaffer, “While the World Battles the Coronavirus, Our
Adversaries Are Planning Their Next Attack,” The Hill, April 7 2020.
James Kraska and Sumantra Maitra, “The Coronavirus Crisis Has Highlighted America’s Failed
Foreign Policy Tactics,” National Interest, April 7, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Plamen Tonchev, “The Belt and Road After COVID-19, Possible Post-pandemic Scenarios for
China’s Long-term Foreign Policy Strategy,” Diplomat, April 7, 2020.
Mark Payumo, “Why China’s Coronavirus Lies Don't Matter If It Plays the Long Information
Game, Washington Can Still Beat Beijing’s Information Warfare Campaign, But It Needs to Stop
Thinking Short-Term,” National Interest, April 6, 2020.
Nadia Schadlow, “Consider the Possibility That Trump Is Right About China, Critics Are Letting
Their Disdain for the President Blind Them to Geopolitical Realities,” Atlantic, April 5, 2020.
Anthony Vinci and Nadia Schadlow, “Time for the US to Declare Independence from China,”
Washington Examiner, April 5, 2020.
Madeleine Albright et al., “Saving Lives in America, China, and Around the World,” Asia
Society, April 3, 2020.
Emma Ashford and Matthew Kroenig,” Will Trump’s Pandemic Response Help or Harm U.S.
Power? Russia and China Are Stepping in While the United States and Europe Fumble,” Foreign
Policy, April 3, 2020.
James Jay Carafano, “America’s Post-Coronavirus China Syndrome,” National Interest, April 1,
2020.
Matthew Kroenig, “Why the U.S. Will Outcompete China, The Faith in Autocratic Ascendance
and Democratic Decline Is Contrary to Historical Fact,” Atlantic, April 3, 2020.
Bruno Maçães, “China Wants to Use the Coronavirus to Take Over the World,” National Review,
April 3, 2020.
Minxin Pei, “China’s Coming Upheaval, Competition, the Coronavirus, and the Weakness of Xi
Jinping,” Foreign Affairs, April 3, 2020.
Riley Walters, “Decreasing U.S.-China Trade Is Worrisome,” Heritage Foundation, April 3, 2020.
Tom O’Connor and Naveed Jamali, “As U.S. Struggles to Fight Coronavirus, China, Russia See
Opportunity to Gain Global Power,” Newsweek, April 1, 2020.
Matthew Petti, “Pompeo: China Will Be ‘True Strategic Competitor’ After Coronavirus,”
National Interest, April 1, 2020.
Ali Wyne, “Why China and the U.S. Can’t Cooperate to Fight Coronavirus,” Washington Post,
March 26, 2020.
Peter Rough, “How China is Exploiting the Coronavirus to Weaken Democracies,” Foreign
Policy, March 25, 2020.
James Jay Carafano, “Great Power Competition After the Coronavirus Crisis: What Should
America Do?” National Interest, March 24, 2020.
Paul Haenle and Lucas Tcheyan, “U.S.-China Cooperation on Coronavirus Hampered by
Propaganda War,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, March 24, 2020.
Jonathan Marcus, “Coronavirus: US-China Battle Behind the Scenes,” BBC News, March 24,
2020.
Mira Rapp-Hooper, “China, America, and the International Order After the Pandemic,” War on
the Rocks, March 24, 2020.
Doug Bandow, “A War of Words With China Helps Nobody,” Foreign Policy, March 23, 2020.
Elisabeth Braw, “As the West Panics, Putin Is Watching,” Foreign Policy, March 23, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Emily de La Bruyere and Nathan Picarsic, “Competition Meets Crisis: China’s Perverse
Opportunity and a Strategic Response,” National Interest, March 23, 2020.
Matthew Kroenig, “Pandemics Can Fast Forward the Rise and Fall of Great Powers,” National
Interest, March 23, 2020.
Stephen S. Roach and Daniel J. Arbess, “US Lives and Economic Stability Are Threatened by
Coronavirus Conflict with China,” The Hill, March 23, 2020.
Gordon G. Chang, “Donald Trump Can't Cooperate with China on Coronavirus,” National
Interest, March 22, 2020.
Michael Crowley, Edward Wong, and Lara Jakes, “Coronavirus Drives the U.S. and China
Deeper Into Global Power Struggle,” New York Times, March 22, 2020.
Richard Fontaine, “Virus Competition Is Wrecking China-U.S. Cooperation Hopes, Coronavirus
Efforts Are A New Battlefront—and Beijing Is the Only One in the Game,” Foreign Policy,
March 20, 2020.
James Holmes, “Beware of Pandemic America, Note to China and Russia: Despite Appearances,
the Time of Coronavirus May Not Be an Opportune Time for You to Chisel Away at America’s
Global Standing,” National Interest, March 20, 2020.
Suzanne Nossel, “China Is Fighting the Coronavirus Propaganda War to Win,” Foreign Policy,
March 20, 2020.
Katie Bo Williams, “US-China Tensions Heat Up As Beijing Seeks Leadership Role,” Defense
One, March 20, 2020.
David Ignatius, “The Coronavirus Is A Test of Our National Character,” Washington Post, March
19, 2020.
David E. Sanger, David D. Kirkpatrick, Sui-Lee Wee, and Katrin Bennhold, “Search for
Coronavirus Vaccine Becomes a Global Competition, The United States, China and Europe are
battling to be the first to find a cure, bringing a nationalist element to a worldwide crisis,” New
York Times, March 19, 2020.
Dan Blumenthal, “Coronavirus and the Future of US-China Geopolitical Competition: What We
Know So Far,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, March 18, 2020.
Kurt M. Campbell and Rush Doshi, “The Coronavirus Could Reshape Global Order, China Is
Maneuvering for International Leadership as the United States Falters,” Foreign Affairs, March
18, 2020.
Yasmeen Abutaleb and Josh Dawsey, “Trump’s Soft Touch with China’s Xi Worries Advisers
Who Say More Is Needed to Combat Coronavirus Outbreak,” Washington Post, February 16,
2020.
Democracy, Authoritarianism, and Autocracy
Jeffrey Smith and Nic Cheeseman, “Authoritarians Are Exploiting the Coronavirus. Democracies
Must Not Follow Suit,” Foreign Policy, April 28, 2020.
Alexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon, “Why Populists Want a Multipolar World, Aspiring
Authoritarians Are Sick of the Liberal Order and Eager for New Patrons in Russia and China,”
National Interest, April 25, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Editorial Board, “How China’s Authoritarian System Made the Pandemic Worse,” Washington
Post, April 17, 2020.
Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Carisa Nietsche, “The Coronavirus Is Exposing Populists’ Hollow
Politics, As the Crisis Worsens, Even More Extreme Groups May Prosper,” Foreign Policy, April
16, 2020.
Emily Schultheis, “Coronavirus Has Paralyzed Europe’s Far Right,” Foreign Policy, April 14,
2020.
Mason Clark and Aidan Therrien, “Russia in Review: Kremlin Tests Authoritarian Societal
Control Measures During COVID-19 Crisis,” Institute for the Study of War, April 13, 2020.
Suzanne Nossel, “Don’t Let Leaders Use the Coronavirus as an Excuse to Violate Civil
Liberties,” Foreign Policy, April 13, 2020.
Stephen M. Walt, “The United States Is Getting Infected With Dictatorship,” Foreign Policy,
April 13, 2020.
Michael Birnbaum and Terrence McCoy, “As Leaders Seize Powers to Fight Coronavirus, Fear
Grows for Democracy,” Washington Post, April 12, 2020.
Steve H. Hanke, “Crises Enliven ‘Totalitarian Temptations,’” Cato Institute, April 10, 2020.
Elisabeth Zerofsky, “How Viktor Orbán Used the Coronavirus to Seize More Power,” New
Yorker, April 9, 2020.
Tom G. Palmer and Simon Lee, “How One Pandemic Leads to Another,” Cato Institute, April 8,
2020.
Frances Z. Brown and Saskia Brechenmacher, and Thomas Carothers, “How Will the
Coronavirus Reshape Democracy and Governance Globally?” Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, April, 6 2020.
James Lamond, “Authoritarian Regimes Seek To Take Advantage of the Coronavirus Pandemic,”
Center for American Progress, April 6, 2020.
Seth J. Frantzman, “Coronavirus Is Empowering Dictators And Changing The World Order,”
National Interest, April 4, 2020.
Joshua Kurlantzick, “Dictators Are Using the Coronavirus to Strengthen Their Grip on Power,”
Washington Post, April 3, 2020.
John Haltiwanger, “The Coronavirus Just Created a New Dictator in Europe and Has Emboldened
the Toxic Behavior of Authoritarians Worldwide,” Business Insider, April 1, 2020.
Luke McGee, “Power-Hungry Leaders Are Itching to Exploit the Coronavirus Crisis,” CNN,
April 1, 2020.
Jacob Mchangama and Sarah McLaughlin, “Coronavirus Has Started a Censorship Pandemic,”
Foreign Policy, April 1, 2020.
Florian Bieber, “Authoritarianism in the Time of the Coronavirus, The Pandemic Offers
Dictators—and Democracies Alike—an Opportunity for Abuse,” Foreign Policy, March 30,
2020.
Selam Gebrekidan, “For Autocrats, and Others, Coronavirus Is a Chance to Grab Even More
Power,” New York Times, March 30, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Anne Applebaum, “The People in Charge See an Opportunity, Around the World, Rulers Are
Using the Pandemic As An Excuse to Grab More Power. And the Public Is Going Along with It,”
Atlantic, March 23, 2020.
Melinda Haring and Doug Klain, “Why Autocrats Love Coronavirus,” National Interest, March
22, 2020.
Societal Tension, Reform, and Transformation, and
Governmental Stability
Henry Foy, “Russia: Pandemic Tests Putin’s Grip on Power,” Financial Times, May 4, 2020.
Cary Huang, “Coronavirus: China Faces an Economic Reckoning as Covid-19 Turns World
Against Globalisation,” South China Morning Post, May 3, 2020.
Andrew Higgins, “Putin, Russia’s Man of Action, Is Passive, Even Bored, in the Coronavirus
Era,” New York Times, April 30, 2020.
Nael M. Shama, “In Egypt, the Coronavirus Poses a Political Threat,” Foreign Policy, April 30,
2020.
Don Weinland, “China Slowdown Puts Xi in Political Bind, Coronavirus Threatens Communist
Party’s Aim of Widespread Prosperity by End of 2020,” Financial Times, April 28, 2020.
Editorial Board, “Russia’s Economic Woes Will Clip Vladimir Putin’s Wings, Pandemic
Combined with Collapsing Oil Prices Spells Real Hardship,” Financial Times, April 27, 2020.
Lance Kokonos, “Coronavirus Is Making Russia’s Demographic Disaster Even Worse,” National
Interest, April 25, 2020.
Leon Aron, “The Coronavirus Could Imperil Putin’s Presidency,” Wall Street Journal, April 23,
2020.
Holly Ellyatt, “Coronavirus Is a ‘Challenge’ for Putin and ‘Huge Danger’ for the World, Kremlin
Warns,” CNBC, April 22, 2020.
Rick Gladstone, “Oil Collapse and Covid-19 Create Toxic Geopolitical Stew,” New York Times,
April 22, 2020.
Sarah Rainsford, “Coronavirus Crisis Tests Putin’s Grip on Power in Russia,” BBC, April 22,
2020.
Armand Gosu, “Russia Needs an OPEC+ 2.0 Accord to Avoid a Crisis,” Middle East Institute,
April 21, 2020.
Patrick Tucker, “Putin Is Projecting Strength In the Face of Coronavirus. But the Image is
Cracked,” Defense One, April 21, 2020.
Brian Whitmore, “The Desanctification of Putin, The Political Costs of COVID-19 Are
Beginning to Mount,” Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), April 21, 2020.
Steven Erlanger, “Coronavirus Has Lifted Leaders Everywhere. Don’t Expect That to Last,” New
York Times, April 15, 2020.
James Traub, “After the Coronavirus, the Era of Small Government Will Be Over,” Foreign
Policy, April 15, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Frances Z. Brown and Jarrett Blanc, “Coronavirus in Conflict Zones: A Sobering Landscape,”
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 14, 2020. (Includes links to 12 additional
writings by various authors focusing on situations in specific countries and regions.)
Michael Albertus, “The Coronavirus Will Cause New Crises in Latin America,” Foreign Policy,
April 16, 2020.
Samuel Brannen, “Will Covid-19 End the Age of Mass Protests?” Center for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS), April 7, 2020.
Kyle Harper, “The Coronavirus Is Accelerating History Past the Breaking Point, Every Era Gets
the Infectious Diseases—and the Resulting Political Upheaval—It Has Coming,” Foreign Policy,
April 6, 2020.
Anthony Faiola, Lindzi Wessel, and Shibani Mahtani, “Coronavirus Chills Protests from Chile to
Hong Kong to Iraq, Forcing Activists to Innovate,” Washington Post, April 4, 2020.
James Jay Carafano, “Coronavirus and Regime Change—Will This Plague Topple Nations Great
and Small?” Heritage Foundation, April 1, 2020.
Nic Cheeseman, “The Coronavirus Could Topple Governments Around the World,” Foreign
Policy, March 31, 2020.
Carolyn Whitzman, “Could Coronavirus Lead To a Fairer World?” National Interest, March 31,
2020.
Elizabeth Kolbert, “Pandemics and the Shape of Human History, Outbreaks Have Sparked Riots
and Propelled Public-Health Innovations, Prefigured Revolutions and Redrawn Maps,” New
Yorker, March 20, 2020.
Simon Mair, “Why Coronavirus May Change the World (For Better or Worse),” National Interest,
March 30, 2020.
Nicholas Mulder, “The Coronavirus War Economy Will Change the World,” Foreign Policy,
March 26, 2020.
World Economy, Globalization, and U.S. Trade Policy
Ruchir Sharma, “The Pandemic Isn’t Changing Everything, It Is Just Speeding Up Trends That
Were Already Underway,” New York Times, May 3, 2020.
James Crabtree, “The End of Emerging Markets? Economies such as Brazil, Indonesia, India,
Russia, and Turkey face a daunting new reality,” Foreign Policy, May 3, 2020.
Kevin Sieff, “The U.S. Wants Mexico to Keep Its Defense and Health-Care Factories Open.
Mexican Workers Are Getting Sick and Dying,” Washington Post, May 1, 2020.
Ariel E. Levite and Lyu Jinghua, “Travails of an Interconnected World: From Pandemics to the
Digital Economy,” Lawfare, April 30, 2020.
Nathaniel Taplin, “Trump’s Trade Deal With China Is Another Coronavirus Victim, The
Pandemic Is Exposing the Perils of Agreements Based on Numerical Targets Rather Than Tariff
Reductions or Policy Concessions,” Wall Street Journal, April 30, 2020.
Trevor Jackson, “Terminal Deflation Is Coming, Central Banks’ Interventions in the Pandemic
Economy Are Unprecedentedly Vast—and Not Nearly Enough,” Foreign Policy, April 29, 2020.
Greg Ip, “Globalization Is Down but Not Out Yet,” Wall Street Journal, April 28, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Zhou Xin, “Coronavirus: How Will China’s Role in the Global Economy Change When Faced
with Pandemic Backlash?” South China Morning Post, April 28, 2020.
Nicholas Mulder and Adam Tooze, “The Coronavirus Oil Shock Is Just Getting Started,” Foreign
Policy, April 23, 2020.
Jack Detsch and Robbie Gramer, “The Coronavirus Could Upend Trump’s China Trade Deal,”
Foreign Policy, April 21, 2020.
Richard Fontaine, “Globalization Will Look Very Different After the Coronavirus Pandemic,”
Foreign Policy, April 17, 2020.
Neil Irwin, “It’s the End of the World Economy as We Know It, Experts Suggest There Will Be
‘A Rethink of How Much Any Country Wants to Be Reliant on Any Other Country,’” New York
Times, April 16, 2020.
Robert Delaney, “Economic Havoc Wreaked by Coronavirus Has Likely Throttled US-China
Trade Deal, Experts Say,” South China Morning Post, April 15, 2020.
Joseph E. Stiglitz et al., “How the Economy Will Look After the Coronavirus Pandemic, The
Pandemic Will Change the Economic and Financial Order Forever. We Asked Nine Leading
Global Thinkers for Their Predictions,” Foreign Policy, April 15, 2020.
Martin Wolf, “The World Economy Is Now Collapsing, A Microbe Has Overthrown Our
Arrogance and Sent Global Output into a Tailspin,” Financial Times, April 14, 2020.
Josh Zumbrun, “Coronavirus-Afflicted Global Economy Is Almost Certainly in Recession,” Wall
Street Journal, April 14, 2020.
By Raphael S. Cohen Sunday, “The Coronavirus Will Not Stop Globalization,” Lawfare, April
12, 2020.
Dalia Marin, “How COVID-19 Is Transforming Manufacturing,” Project Syndicate, April 3,
2020.
Daniel J. Ikenson, “The Coronavirus Crisis Is the Worst Time For Trump To Put Up Trade
Barriers,” National Interest, March 30, 2020.
Simon Lester, “The Coronavirus Crisis Is the Right Time For Free Trade,” National Interest,
March 30, 2020.
David Frum, “The Coronavirus Is Demonstrating the Value of Globalization,” Atlantic, March 27,
2020.
Mie Oba, “Coronavirus and the Future of Globalization,” Diplomat, March 18, 2020.
Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman, “Will the Coronavirus End Globalization as We Know It?”
Foreign Affairs, March 16, 2020.
Philippe Legrain Marc, “The Coronavirus Is Killing Globalization as We Know It,” Foreign
Policy, March 12, 2020.
Allied Defense Spending and U.S. Alliances
Wallace C. Gregson, “The Coronavirus Creates New National Security Problems for America,”
National Defense, May 3, 2020.
Marcus Weisgerber, “Global Defense Spending Decline Expected As Nations Deal with
Coronavirus,” Defense One, April 28, 2020.
Congressional Research Service
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Tom Kington, “Back Hard-Hit Businesses? Experts Press EU to Instead Boost Defense
Spending,” Defense News, April 27, 2020.
Clementine Starling, “Europe Was Just Getting Better at Moving Militaries,” Defense One, April
22, 2020.
Brooks Tigner, Brussels, “Covid-19: NATO to Review Military Resilience for Post-pandemic
World,” Jane’s, April 17, 2020.
Richard Fontaine, “We Need an Atlantic Charter for the Post-coronavirus Era,” Atlantic, April 16,
2020.
Deborah Haynes, “Coronavirus: NATO Chief Denies Alliance Has Responded Too Slowly to
Pandemic,” Sky News, April 15, 2020.
Stéphanie Fillion, “In Canada, Patience Wearing Thin Over Trump’s Antics, A Threat to
Militarize the Border and Attempts to Hold Up Lifesaving Medical Supplies Have Roiled the
Calmest of Countries,” Foreign Policy, April 14, 2020.
Sebastian Sprenger, “NATO Defense Ministers to Weigh Coronavirus Fallout,” Defense News,
April 14, 2020.
James Jay Carafano, “After Coronavirus—We Still Need Europe and They Need Us. Here’s What
Has to Happen,” Heritage Foundation, April 13, 2020.
Derek Chollet, Michał Baranowski, and Steven Keil, “Where is NATO? And Where is Trump?
The Virus Is Destroying Economies and Paralyzing Societies in Ways Russian Military Planners
Could Only Dream,” Defense One, April 13, 2020.
Philip H. Gordon and Jeremy Shapiro, “The Atlantic Alliance Had Preexisting Conditions. The
Pandemic Will Worsen Them,” War on the Rocks, April 13, 2020.
Quentin Lopinot, “Europe Is at War with the Coronavirus. Where Does That Leave European
Defense?” Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), April 13, 2020.
Janusz Bugajski, “Mind the Gap, And Don’t Succumb to Transatlantic Fever,” Center for
European Policy Analysis (CEPA), April 10, 2020.
Sophia Becker, Christian Mölling, and Torben Schütz, “The Coronavirus Threatens NATO. Let’s
Move to Protect the Alliance,” Defense News, April 9, 2020.
Matthew Karnitschnig and Judith Mischke, “Berlin Lets Mask Slip on Feelings for Trump’s
America, The Crisis Has Convinced Germans That Trump Puts Other Countries at Risk,”
Politico, April 6 (updated April 7), 2020.
Andy Blatchford, “Trump’s Moves to Hold Medical Supplies Tip Trudeau to China,” Politico,
April 4 (updated April 5), 2020.
Dov S. Zakheim, “NATO’s Budget Virus: How the Pandemic Could Slash Military Spending,”
The Hill, March 16, 2020.
European Union
Rick Noack, “The Coronavirus Has Brought Back Border Barriers in Europe, Dividing Couples,
Families and Communities,” Washington Post, May 1, 2020.
Sinan Ulgen, “The Coronavirus Is Creating a Crisis on Europe’s Borders,” Foreign Policy, May
1, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Spencer Wong, “Is the Coronavirus Ushering in an Era of Eurosceptic Leaders? The Pandemic
Could Very Well Be a Watershed Moment in European Politics,” National Interest, April 29,
2020.
Elisabeth Braw, “Forget Washington and Beijing. These Days Global Leadership Comes From
Berlin,” Foreign Policy, April 28, 2020.
Rikard Jozwiak, “EU Monitors See Coordinated COVID-19 Disinformation Effort By Iran,
Russia, China,” Radio Farda, April 23, 2020.
Jennifer Rankin, “How Covid-19 Poured Cold Water on Netherlands’ EU Romance,” Guardian
(UK), April 23, 2020.
Peter Rough, “The European Union Needs More National Flexibility,” National Review, April 22,
2020.
Donatienne Ruy, “Fault Lines and Prospects for European Solidarity,” Center for Strategic and
Budgetary Assessments (CSIS), April 22, 2020.
Bashkim Smakaj, “COVID-19 and the Need for Deep EU Reform,” Euractiv, April 22, 2020.
HJ Mai, “The Coronavirus Could Tear the EU Apart,” Vox, April 21, 2020.
Stephania Taladrid, “What the Coronavirus Means for Europe’s Future,” New Yorker, April 21,
2020.
Sam Fleming, “EU Coronavirus Recovery Fund Plans Face Political Bear Traps,” Financial
Times, April 20, 2020.
Andrea Dudik and Flavia Krause-Jackson, “Albania’s European Dream Is Just Out of Reach, As
the Coronavirus Widens Fractures in the EU, Hopes of a Larger Europe Fade,” Bloomberg
Businessweek, April 17, 2020.
Dalibor Rohac, “Europe Needs an Alexander Hamilton, Not More Budget Hawks,” Foreign
Policy, April 16, 2020.
Simon Clark and Ben Dummett, “Coronavirus Accelerates European Efforts to Block Foreign
Takeovers,” Wall Street Journal, April 10, 2020.
Luke McGee, “The EU Has Bungled Its Response to Coronavirus and It Might Never Fully
Recover,” CNN, April 10, 2020.
by Tom Rogan, “Coronavirus Bailout Lays Bare European Union Nationalist Divisions,”
Washington Examiner, April 10, 2020.
Samuel Volkin, “Covid-19 and a Splintered European Union,” Hub (Johns Hopkins University),
April 10, 2020.
Oliver Wiseman, “Will We Meet Again? The Covid-19 Crisis Is Testing European Unity to the
Breaking Point,” City Journal, April 8, 2020.
Heather A. Conley, “An Eroding European Union,” Center for Strategic and International Studies
(CSIS), April 6, 2020.
Katya Adler, “Coronavirus Outbreak Eats Into EU Unity,” BBC, April 3, 2020.
Katharina Konarek, “COVID-19—A Make-It or Break-It Moment for the European Union,” The
Hill, April 3, 2020.
Kevin Allison, “A COVID-19 test for the European Union,” Gzero Media, March 31, 2020.
Congressional Research Service
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Definition of, and Budgeting for, U.S. National Security
Greg Barbaccia, “The Coronavirus Pandemic Will Force a Paradigm Shift in the U.S. Intelligence
Community,” National Interest, April 23, 2020.
Kori Schake, “A New Org Chart Won’t Stop the Next Pandemic,” Bloomberg, April 22, 2020.
Rachel Olney, “How Will the Pandemic Affect National Security Innovation?” War on the Rocks,
April 21, 2020.
Christopher Woody, “After Coronavirus, the US Needs to Worry about a ‘7th domain’ of Warfare,
Top Navy Commander in Europe Says,” Business Insider, April 17, 2020.
David E. Sanger, “Analysis: Will Pandemic Make Trump Rethink National Security?” New York
Times, April 15, 2020.
Benjamin Jensen, “When Systems Fail: What Pandemics and Cyberspace Tell Us About the
Future of National Security,” War on the Rocks, April 9, 2020.
Christopher Preble, “How will COVID-19 Change US National Security Strategy?” Responsible
Statecraft, April 8, 2020.
Glenn S. Gerstell and Michael Morell, “Four Ways U.S. Intelligence Efforts Should Change in the
Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic,” Washington Post, April 7, 2020.
Oona A. Hathaway, “After COVID-19, We Need to Redefine ‘National Security,’ The Post-9/11
Era Is Over,” Slate, April 7, 2020.
Zachery Tyson Brown, “America’s National Security Software Needs an Upgrade, The Outdated
U.S. Security Apparatus Was Completely Unprepared for the Coronavirus Pandemic,” Foreign
Policy, April 6, 2020.
Ben Rhodes, “The 9/11 Era Is Over, The Coronavirus Pandemic and a Chapter of History That
Should Have Expired Long Ago,” Atlantic, April 6, 2020.
Gregory D. Koblentz and Michael Hunzeker, “National Security in the Age of Pandemics,”
Defense One, April 3, 2020.
Nahal Toosi, “Coronavirus Rattles America’s National Security Priesthood,” Politico Pro, March
29, 2020.
Joseph S. Nye, Jr., “COVID-19’s Painful Lesson about Strategy and Power,” War on the Rocks,
March 26, 2020.
Gary J. Schmitt, “National Security and the Pandemic of 2020,” American Interest, March 20,
2020.
U.S. Defense Strategy, Defense Budget, and Military Operations
Rebecca Kheel, “Defense Budget Brawl Looms After Pandemic,” The Hill, May 3, 2020.
Anrea Howard, “The Pandemic and America’s Response to Future Bioweapons,” War on the
Rocks, May 1, 2020.
Paul McCleary, “Pentagon Wary Of Adversaries Buying Defense Firms Amid Economic Crisis,”
Breaking Defense, April 30, 2020.
Ben Wolfgang, “U.S. Military Ramps Up Counterterrorism Operations in Africa Amid
Pandemic,” Washington Times, April 29, 2020.
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David Barno and Nora Bensahel, “Five Ways the U.S. Military Will Change After the Pandemic,”
War on the Rocks, April 28, 2020.
Theresa Hitchens, “DoD Budget Cuts Likely As $4 Trillion Deficit Looms,” Breaking Defense,
April 27, 2020.
Walter Russell Mead, “The Century of Bioweapons,” Wall Street Journal, April 27, 2020.
Connor O’Brien, “Defense Boosters Fire Warning Shots over Budget Cuts Due to Pandemic,”
Politico Pro, April 24, 2020.
Natasha Bertrand, Daniel Lippman, and Lara Seligman, “Officials Probe the Threat of a
Coronavirus Bioweapon,” Politico Pro, April 23, 2020.
William D. Hartung, “Now Isn’t the Time to Push for Nuclear Modernization,” Defense News,
April 21, 2020.
Loren Thompson, “How Coronavirus Could Permanently Transform The U.S. Military,” Forbes,
April 20, 2020.
Todd Harrison, “DoD Must Identify Its ‘Crown Jewels’ in Preparation for Fiscal Uncertainty,”
Defense News, April 15, 2020.
Michael J. Mazarr, “Toward a New Theory of Power Projection,” War on the Rocks, April 15,
2020.
Robert Burns, “Military Sees No Quick Exit From ‘New World’ of Coronavirus,” Associated
Press, April 14, 2020.
Tony Bertuca, “Global Pandemic Threatens to Hobble National Defense Strategy,” Inside
Defense, April 13, 2020.
David Ignatius, “The Coronavirus Is Already Reshaping Defense Strategies,” Washington Post,
April 9, 2020.
Daniel L. Davis, “Coronavirus Means No More Money for Forever Wars,” National Interest,
April 7, 2020.
Harrison Schramm, Kevin A. Chlan, Peter Kouretsos, COVID-19, Analysis and Policy
Implications, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, 2020 (released April 7, 2020), 31
pp.
Jason Sherman, “Analyst: Pandemic Will Squeeze Defense Spending As Nation’s Focus Shifts to
Health Care,” Inside Defense, April 6, 2020.
Stratfor Worldview, “Will the Coronavirus Ruin Countries’ Ability to Wage War?” National
Interest, April 5, 2020.
James G. Foggo III, “Germs: The Seventh Domain of Warfare,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings,
April 2020.
David Barno and Nora Bensahel, “After the Pandemic: America and National Security in a
Changed World,” War on the Rocks, March 31, 2020.
Max Boot, “Covid-19 is Killing Off Our Traditional Notions of National Defense,” Washington
Post, March 31, 2020.
Jim Thomas, “A Blueprint for Rebuilding America’s Military After the Coronavirus,” National
Interest, March 28, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Doug Bandow, “Now’s The Time To Become A Truly ‘America First’ Military, With Coronavirus
Killing the Economy, We Can No Longer Afford to Project Power Everywhere,” American
Conservative, March 26, 2020.
Doug Bandow, “How the Coronavirus Shows North Korea Doesn’t Matter That Much to
America,” National Interest, March 25, 2020.
Doug Bandow, “Coronavirus Means America Is Really Broke. Trump Should Get the Hell Out of
Syria,” National Interest, March 22, 2020.
U.S. Foreign Assistance and International Debt Relief
Michael H. Fuchs, Alexandra Schmitt, and Haneul Lee, “Foreign Aid is Critical to Stopping the
Coronavirus,” National Interest, May 3, 2020.
Daniel F. Runde, Conor M. Savoy, and Shannon McKeown, “Covid-19 Has Consequences for
U.S. Foreign Aid and Global Leadership,” Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS),
May 1, 2020.
James Kynge and Sun Yu, “China Faces Wave of Calls for Debt Relief on ‘Belt and Road’
Projects,” Financial Times, April 30, 2020.
Charles Holmes, Anthony Lake, and Witney Schneidman, “It’s Time to Help Africa Fight the
Virus, The Continent Is Ripe for a Public Health Disaster, and Western Powers Must Step in to
Prevent Another Global Catastrophe,” Foreign Policy, April 29, 2020.
Matthew Lee, “Virus Pandemic Collides with Trump’s Disdain for Foreign Aid,” Associated
Press, April 17, 2020.
Adam Tooze, “A Global Pandemic Bailout Was Coming—Until America Stopped It,” Foreign
Policy, April 17, 2020.
Editorial Board, “Even as Rich Countries Reel, It’s Imperative to Help Emerging Markets,”
Washington Post, April 16, 2020.
Dayo Israel, “Unless Canceled, Africa’s Debt Burden Will Cause COVID-19 to Kill Millions,”
Washington Examiner, April 16, 2020.
Cara Anna and Aya Batrawy, “Richest Countries Agree to Freeze Poorer Nations’ Debt,”
Associated Press, April 15, 2020.
Nahal Toosi, “Trump Hobbles Foreign Aid as Coronavirus Rips Around the World, Confusion at
the Top Has Crippled USAID at a Critical Time for the Global Battle Against the Pandemic,”
Politico, April 15, 2020.
Josh Zumbrun, “G-7 Countries Support Debt Relief for Poorest Countries If Joined by Full G-
20,” Wall Street Journal, April 14, 2020.
Robbie Gramer, “Outgoing USAID Chief Says Pandemic Underscores Importance of Foreign
Aid,” Foreign Policy, April 13, 2020.
Josh Rogin, “The Pandemic Means the Trump Administration Must Stop Mistreating USAID,”
Washington Post, April 9, 2020.
Josh Rogin, “America’s $2 Trillion Coronavirus Stimulus Package Ignores the Rest of the
World,” Washington Post, March 26, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Non-state Actors
Lydia Khalil, “COVID-19 and America’s Counter-Terrorism Response,” War on the Rocks, May
1, 2020.
Luke Baker, “Militants, Fringe Groups Exploiting COVID-19, Warns EU Anti-Terrorism Chief,”
Reuters, April 30, 2020.
Joseph Hincks, “With the World Busy Fighting COVID-19, Could ISIS Mount a Resurgence?”
Time, April 29, 2020.
Luis Fajardo, “Coronavirus: Latin American Crime Gangs Adapt to Pandemic,” BBC, April 22,
2020.
Raffaello Pantucci, “After the Coronavirus, Terrorism Won’t Be the Same,” Foreign Policy, April
22, 2020.
Valentina Di Donato and Tim Lister, “The Mafia Is Poised to Exploit Coronavirus, and Not Just
in Italy,” CNN, April 19, 2020.
Jim Mustian and Jake Bleiberg, “‘Cartels Are Scrambling’: Virus Snarls Global Drug Trade,”
Associated Press, April 19, 2020.
Colum Lynch, “How Trump and Putin Weakened U.N. Bid for a Global Cease-Fire, U.S. Officials
Worry That Counterterrorism Operations Will Be Constrained,” Foreign Policy, April 17, 2020.
Seth J. Frantzman, “Iran Regime, ISIS and Other Extremists Exploit Coronavirus to Wreak
Havoc,” Jerusalem Post, April 16, 2020.
Kevin Sieff, Susannah George, and Kareem Fahim, “Now Joining the Fight Against Coronavirus:
The World’s Armed Rebels, Drug Cartels and Gangs,” Washington Post, April 14, 2020.
Souad Mekhennet, “Far-Right and Radical Islamist Groups Are Exploiting Coronavirus Turmoil,”
Washington Post, April 10, 2020.
Yonah Jeremy Bob, “Coronavirus Economic Impact Could Block Iran from Funding Terror—
INSS,” Jerusalem Post, April 7, 2020.
Vanda Felbab-Brown, “What Coronavirus Means for Online Fraud, Forced Sex, Drug Smuggling
and Wildlife Trafficking,” Lawfare, April 3, 2020.
Cara Anna, “Extremists See Global Chaos from Virus As An Opportunity,” Associated Press,
April 2, 2020.
Stratfor Worldview, “Coronavirus Could Lead To Lots of This in the Near Future,” National
Interest, March 22, 2020. (The article discusses potential actions by non-state actors.)
U.S. Attention to International Issues Other than COVID-19
Arjun Kapur, “Scotland Launched an Invasion During the Black Death. Does History Tell China
to Attack Taiwan?” National Interest, May 2, 2020.
Con Coughlin, “China Exploiting the Coronavirus Pandemic to Expand in Asia,” Gatestone
Institute, April 30, 2020.
Corinne Redfern, “The Pandemic’s Hidden Human Trafficking Crisis, The Coronavirus Has
Created More People Vulnerable to Exploitation by Traffickers—and Revealed the World’s
Unpreparedness to Protect Them,” Foreign Policy, April 30, 2020.
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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

Paul Haenle, “Security Concerns in Asia-Pacific Escalate Amid Coronavirus Scramble, While the
Trump Administration Is Consumed with the Coronavirus, China and North Korea Are Seizing
the Moment for Strategic Advantage,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 29,
2020.
Bertil Lintner, “Time May Be Ripe for China to Invade Taiwan, Pandemic Has Left a US Security
Vacuum Around the Self-Governing Island China Has Oft-Vowed to ‘Reincorporate’ with the
Mainland,” Asia Times, April 28, 2020.
Victor Davis Hanson, “Pandemic Only 1 of America’s Security Concerns,” Daily Signal, April
23, 2020.
Gordon Lubold and Dion Nissenbaum, “With Trump Facing Virus Crisis, U.S. Warns Rivals Not
to Seek Advantage,” Wall Street Journal, April 20, 2020.
Ellen Mitchell, “Foreign Powers Test US Defenses Amid Coronavirus Pandemic,” The Hill, April
19, 2020.
Karen DeYoung, “Foreign Policy Challenges Persist for a Distracted U.S. in the Midst of
Pandemic,” Washington Post, April 10, 2020.
Sylvie Lanteaume (Agence France-Presse), “Hit by Virus, Pentagon Warns Enemies: Don’t Test
Us,” Yahoo News, April 10, 2020.
“With the world distracted, China intimidates Taiwan,” Economist, April 8, 2020. (This article
does not list an author.)
Fred Kaplan, “The Coronavirus Hasn’t Stopped Trump From Undermining Our National
Security,” Slate, March 26, 2020.
Role of Congress
Robbie Gramer and Jack Detsch, “Pandemic Stymies Congressional Check on Trump’s Foreign
Policy,” Foreign Policy, April 8, 2020.

Author Information

Ronald O'Rourke
Michael Moodie
Specialist in Naval Affairs
Assistant Director and Senior Specialist in Foreign

Affairs, Defense and Trade

Kathleen J. McInnis

Specialist in International Security

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COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment

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Congressional Research Service
R46336 · VERSION 2 · UPDATED
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