The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the DRC serves as a critical warning that the global health security system is fundamentally unprepared for future biological threats. The difficulty in containing this outbreak is compounded by the rising risk of emerging pathogens and the growing potential for AI misuse in bioweapon development. Policy must therefore shift from reactive, crisis-driven funding to sustained, proactive investment in resilient public health infrastructure, particularly in conflict zones. Addressing this requires strengthening global surveillance, ensuring consistent international cooperation, and mitigating the intersection of conflict, climate change, and disease spread.
Chatham House appoints Owen Jenkins as Research Director for Africa, Middle East and North Africa, and Asia Pacific
English Summary
Chatham House has appointed senior British diplomat Owen Jenkins as Research Director for Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Jenkins brings extensive experience from the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, including roles as Director General for the Indo-Pacific and Ambassador to Indonesia. His appointment is strategically designed to enhance the institute's analysis of the evolving world order, shifting global alliances, and the rising influence of regional powers. This move integrates high-level diplomatic expertise into the institute's executive leadership to strengthen its external influence and policy impact across the Global South.
中文摘要
研究所已任命英國資深外交官歐文‧詹金斯為非洲、中東和北非以及亞太地區研究主任。詹金斯先生擁有豐富的英國外交、聯邦和發展事務部工作經驗，曾擔任印太事務總幹事和駐印尼大使。此次任命旨在策略性地加強該研究所對不斷演變的世界秩序、不斷變化的全球聯盟以及地區大國日益增長的影響力的分析。此舉將高水準的外交專長融入研究所的領導階層，以增強其在全球南方地區的外部影響力和政策影響力。
Related Entries
-
1.
-
2.A Design Lab Pilot to Inform Strategies for Expanding Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Community Mental Health Centers (RAND)
Despite MOUD being the standard of care for opioid use disorder, access remains severely limited in Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs), which serve the primary population with co-occurring disorders. A Design Lab pilot identified payment limitations and regulatory complexity as the chief barriers to implementation. The most feasible and high-impact strategy identified was establishing a structured learning exchange between CMHC leaders and insurers to improve reimbursement understanding. Policymakers and payers are therefore advised to pilot this learning exchange model to initiate broader payment reform and expand evidence-based care for this vulnerable population.
-
3.
The article argues that modern conflicts are increasingly defined by attrition, driven by three strategic gaps: the difference between nominal military power and usable capacity; the difficulty of achieving breakthroughs in a technologically advanced battlefield; and the detachment of military means from clear political objectives. Evidence from Ukraine and the Middle East demonstrates that sustained logistics, rapid technological adaptation, and proxy networks are now more decisive than sheer military size. For policymakers, this implies a strategic shift away from seeking short, decisive victories toward preparing for prolonged, high-cost engagements, requiring a focus on sustainable supply chains and defining concrete, attainable political end-states.
-
4.
Congress has significantly expanded presidential tariff authority by passing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, allowing the executive to impose up to 100% tariffs on key buyers of Russian energy and sanctions enablers. The article argues that this legislation represents a dangerous abdication of Congress's Article I authority, as it grants the executive vast, discretionary power without specifying criteria for enforcement. Historically, the executive could claim tariffs were its own doing; however, by writing and passing this new authority, Congress now owns the resulting trade policy and its economic consequences. This shift implies that future tariffs will be viewed by the public as a direct legislative action, potentially undermining the administration's credibility and creating political vulnerability.
-
5.
Cuba is on a trajectory toward an accelerating state and economic collapse, risking a point of no return. The state is deteriorating into "authoritarian anarchy," retaining its capacity for political repression but losing the ability to provide basic public services like health and safety. Economically, while the private sector is growing, this expansion is highly unequal, fueling cronyism and widening class gaps between the elite and the poor. If the current trend continues, the country risks calcifying these defects into a dysfunctional baseline, severely diminishing the chances of a stable, democratic transition.