The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the world to the edge of a new frontier, and underscored the urgency need to redesign economic systems and development models, opting for what the new European Commission has described as greener and more sustainable and inclusive approaches. China, where it all started, has been the first nation to succeed in controlling and preventing the pandemic.
The pandemic has had a considerable impact on lifestyles, both temporarily and longer term (structurally). Even after the arrival of an anti-coronavirus vaccine, an interconnected society is going to have to recuperate a good number of physical living spaces in order to get back to “normal”. That means fewer distance-based activities, some of which, however, are bound to remain useful and will tend to be employed more as we move forward than they were in pre-emergency times.
The most accurate way to assess the 2020 election would be to compare it to Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, when Hillary Clinton carried 20 States to his 30.
The 2020 situation is significantly different. Joe Biden’s basic goal was to win in the States that Clinton lost back then by less than 1% and he has done that, which is enough to explain the gap in his favor both across the nation and in key States such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
The relationship between politics, science and society is playing an increasingly prominent role in rising to the challenges of modernity. A strong alliance of political institutions, scientists, experts and citizens is essential to defeating the global pandemic, but also an essential prerequisite for the success of policies aimed at inverting the advance of climate change and introducing new technologies and new solutions for boosting the quality of life, prosperity and wealth of modern societies.
Almost without exception, the polls point to a situation differs structurally when compared with 2016 – despite the statements of both electoral campaign, and precisely in relation to the reliability of predictions, aimed at mobilizing their respective supporters.
The majority of pollsters assign a probability of no more than 20% to a Trump victory in the Electoral College, which is the real determining factor in who becomes President, regardless of the popular vote. While Biden winning by a slim margin is realistic, a bigger win seems more probable at the present moment.
Orbital angular momentum microlaser[1] – A semiconductor laser of micrometric size that produces twisted light by exploiting an “exceptional quantum point”: this is the study that won the fifth edition of the Aspen Institute Italia Award for collaboration and scientific research between Italy and the United States.
In the July 21 agreement guaranteeing the arrival of resources from Europe in response to the economic consequences of Covid-19, strategic sectors such as infrastructure are to receive significant support. Nevertheless, a series of both technical and institutional complexities threaten to slow the distribution of these funds. The controversy that has developed around a mechanism that hinges on the rule of law is paradigmatic: both the so-called “frugal four” countries and Finland consider the theme central, in contrast to the bitter opposition of countries such as Poland and Hungary.
Science and technology parks are an essential part of the innovation ecosystem. Their ability to link a variety of experiences and disciplines, thereby creating networks of research centers, spin-offs, start-ups, incubators, business angels and venture capitalists makes them a major factor in the country’s competitiveness, in addition to offering nation-wide opportunities. This important contribution is even more fundamental in the field of life sciences, where development timelines are very long and risks quite high.
A mapping of the current phenomenon of continual social mobility reduction shows university training as having an extremely important role, since successfully completing a good post-secondary education is one of the essential prerequisites for improving social status and economic prosperity.
The main challenge associated with the spread of Covid-19 into the autumn/winter is going to be healthcare facilities’ ability to diagnose and treat a growing number of virus cases (as per all predictions) and distinguish them from seasonal flu. While Covid countermeasures will surely contribute significantly to reducing the incidence of regular flu, the annual illness will in any case continue to deplete healthcare resources.
Approval of the Recovery Fund is an important sign that Europe is finally ready to embrace a shared development process; what had long seemed a remote possibility has begun to materialize. Nevertheless, the most delicate part of the process – putting political consensus into practise – now begins for the European institutions and members concerned.
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown that followed has dealt a hard blow to Italian enterprise. According to Bank of Italy estimates, the 2020 GDP contraction will be somewhere between 9 and 13%.
Aspen Institute Italia hosted a conversation on the results of the 17-21 July European Council between Minister Amendola and Giulio Tremonti, during which they discussed topics of major interest in the casual “off the record” style typical of the encounters organized by the Institute.
The world is in the midst of an unprecedented health and economic crisis, and there seems to be a vacuum in global leadership (certainly of US leadership). No single country can offer an effective recipe for resolution. The EU, at least, has recently demonstrated the ability to come together and agree on a large economic support package, but there remains a need for coordination at an even broader level. This, in turn, may require a consensus on common standards, from fair trade to scientific cooperation to specific health issues.
No real global strategy or collective response against the pandemic crisis has yet emerged. Even for those who in the past have led effective coordinated responses to crises –e.g. international terrorism (2001) and the 2008-2009 financial downturn (in other words the United States) – have for the first time ever gone “missing in action”. Thus, at least at the start, it has been everyone for themselves.
The pandemic has unmasked the fragility of our self-assured, globalized, skill-savvy world. Even the most economically advanced countries’ primary response to this unknown virus was a low-tech social distancing, which has necessarily foregrounded the limitations of human action and knowledge. The Socratic paradox “I know that I do not know” encourages the kind of continuing fortification of basic research that calls for increased funding from the Italian government.
The dialogue between the EU and Russia has practically come to a halt over the past few years, for various reasons. Official EU policy includes the concept of “selective engagement”, which now presents an opportunity in light of relevant common interests in the context of the growing US-China clash. All EU members and Russia favour a continuation of the multilateral system in key areas, such as international trade and technological cooperation – the latter having become a precondition for effective policies in almost any sector.
