27 Mar The West is failing to rise to the challenge of Coronavirus – Spectator

Director of the British Foreign Policy Group, Sophia Gaston, wrote for the Spectator arguing that the West, and our institutions, have failed to rise to the challenges presented by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Sophia said: “Rather than seizing the opportunity to come together and cooperate, the West has instead revealed itself to be incapable of rising to the geopolitical stakes. There is every indication that we may come out of this crisis even more fragile and dysfunctional than before.”

On the other hand, Sophia argues that, despite China’s position at the epicentre of the Coronavirus, their propaganda machine has whirred into life in a far more effective way. She said: “A month ago, China’s status as the origin and epicentre of the virus raised questions about the long-term implications for the authoritarian regime. Having apparently broken the back of the first wave of infections, China has now emerged from the ashes, ready to take advantage of a sclerotic Western response. With its propaganda machine in full throttle, the CCP is rewriting history about the origins of the virus, and marketing itself as a benevolent global actor delivering much-needed supplies to the rest of the world.”

You can read the full article here, and listen to Sophia on the Spectator’s podcast this weekend.

The British Foreign Policy Group is an independent, non-partisan think tank based in London. Through dynamic research, events and networks, we seek to strengthen the UK’s international engagement, and advance our understanding of global affairs in the 21st Century.

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The British Foreign Policy Group is an independent, non-partisan think tank based in London. Through dynamic research, events and networks, we seek to strengthen the UK’s international engagement, and advance our understanding of global affairs in the 21st Century.