Elliot Gerson
Senior Fellow at the Aspen Institute and former Executive Vice President responsible for its Policy Programs and International Partners; he also helped launch the Aspen Ideas Festival.
Democracies’ Strategic Edge Depends on Diplomacy and Allied Unity
Former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul argues that democracies retain substantial military, economic, and institutional advantages over authoritarian rivals, but only if they use diplomacy, sustain alliances, and act collectively. McFaul contends that US overreach in Iran, estrangement from democratic partners, and retreat from international institutions risk squandering those advantages as China and Russia challenge the liberal order.
Public Health Crises Test Authority, Partnerships, and Public Confidence
At Aspen Ideas: Health, John Nkengasong, Alex Azar and Margaret Hamburg argued that crisis leadership in public health depends less on improvisation than on authority, trust and institutional capacity built before emergencies hit. Drawing on COVID-19, Operation Warp Speed, drug-resistant tuberculosis in New York and Ebola in the DRC, they made the case that leaders must align political power with technical judgment, work through credible partners, and communicate uncertainty without inflating or minimizing risk.