Director of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute Kristi Raik, together with other experts of the Transatlantic Strategy Group in Harvard Kennedy School’s Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship and the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), contributed to a publication that looks at how COVID-19 is affecting the transatlantic relationship.
Kristi Raik: “COVID-19 has raised tensions between major powers. The actions of China and Russia during the pandemic reflect the strategic goals of the two authoritarian powers to weaken Western cohesion, strengthen their international influence and promote their worldview.”
Western democracies are faced with growing authoritarian influence. Europe and the US need to work together to tackle the risks of foreign-made 5G networks, new surveillance technologies, economic dependencies and disinformation, while not forgetting about the continued need for investments in military defense and deterrence capabilities.