Recommended Weekend Reads
June 16 - 18, 2023
Here are our recommended reads from reports and articles we read in the last week. We hope you find these useful and have a great weekend. And let us know if you or someone you know wants to be added to our distribution list.
· “State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report” Gallup
The report lays out what work life is like post-COVID. Among some of its findings are data showing some fascinating – and seemingly contradictory – data points. For example, employee engagement is on the rise again at a record 23 percent (meaning they find their work meaningful and feel connected to their team, manager, and employer); it also shows a majority of the world’s employees are quiet quitting – nearly six in ten employees globally are “quiet quitting” and a record level 44 percent of employees are experiencing more stress than ever before.
· “Reconstructing Ukraine: Creating a Freer, More Prosperous, and Secure Future” Rand Corporation
Post-war reconstruction in Ukraine may be the largest rebuilding effort in modern history. The United States and Europe have started to plan for its success. Over the past 75 years, they have been engaged in multiple reconstruction efforts. Drawing lessons from the most appropriate of these efforts will be important for planning Ukraine's reform and reconstruction. This study reviews “lessons learned” from previous national rebuilding efforts and what it will take to successfully rebuild a secure Ukraine.
· “Keeping America close, Russia down, and China far away: How Europeans navigate a competitive world” European Council on Foreign Relations
In a new research survey, Russia’s war on Ukraine has shown European citizens that they live in a world of non-cooperation. But their cooperative foreign policy instincts are only slowly adapting to this new reality. Europeans want to remain neutral in a potential US-China conflict and are reluctant to de-risk from China – even if they recognize the dangers of its economic presence in Europe. However, if China decided to deliver weapons to Russia, that would be a red line for much of the European public. Europeans remain united on their current approach to Russia – though they disagree about Europe’s future Russia policy.
They have embraced Europe’s closer relationship with the US, but they want to rely less on American security guarantees. European leaders have an opportunity to build public consensus around Europe’s approach to China, the US, and Russia. But they need to understand what motivates the public and communicate clearly about the future.
“How Wars Don’t End: Ukraine, Russia, and the Lessons of World War I” Margaret MacMillan, Foreign Affairs
MacMillan, an Oxford Professor and noted historian of World War I, writes how the West initially thought the Ukraine War would be a modern one, fought as much in space in cyberspace as on the battlefield. Instead, it has harkened back to World War I and II, fought in trenches over many square miles of territory. She also points out that one of the lessons of Russia’s war in Ukraine is that Western strategists need to pay more attention to how leaders elsewhere see their own countries and histories. For example, invading Taiwan would carry all sorts of risks for China. But the Chinese may be prepared to take them. Their leader, Xi Jinping, has made it clear that he views the island and its people as part of the Chinese nation and wants “reunification” to be part of his legacy. That view and that desire must factor heavily into Xi’s decision-making.
Kenyan tea pickers are destroying machines brought in to replace them during violent protests that highlight the challenge faced by workers as more agribusiness companies rely on automation to cut costs. At least ten tea-plucking machines have been torched in multiple flashpoints in the past year, according to local media reports. Recent demonstrations have left one protester dead and several injured, including 23 police officers and farm workers. The Kenya Tea Growers Association (KTGA) estimated the cost of damaged machinery at $1.2 million(170 million Kenyan shillings) after nine machines belonging to Ekaterra, makers of the top-selling tea brand Lipton, were destroyed in May. The majority of pickers are young, many are women, and they often lack the opportunities and skills to thrive outside the tea sector.
Charts of the Week
How Capping Methane Emissions in Turkmenistan Can Be A Game Changer in the Climate Change Fight
Methane and the ability to reduce is core to the climate change battle. Bloomberg recently published a report on how the US is talking to Turkmenistan about working together to cap their gas emission via leaks in their vast oil and gas fields. Coupled with pending EU rules regulating coal in the EU, this would result in 290 million tons of CO2 being taken out of the atmosphere a year. That would be the equivalent of canceling Taiwan’s total methane emissions – the 21st worst polluting country in the world. But that begs the question: Who are the worst climate offenders out there?
