Covid (Again?) + Last Week's Digest
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Last Week's Digest + Update!

Much ado about Macron this week—from the election to his EU philosophy—while the DNC shifts its schedule around to spruce up its image.

Last Week's Digest + Update!

Much ado about Macron this week—from the election to his EU philosophy—while the DNC shifts its schedule around to spruce up its image.

Spectacles  — 19 April 2022

Hey, everyone! Philip here again.

First of all, we should have sent out an update on Sunday morning, and I apologize for not doing that. Harry and I were visiting our alma mater, Kenyon College, over the weekend, and as you can imagine we were not very focused on work.

We had an interview scheduled for last week which was meant to air on Sunday, but we got cancelled on. Then on Sunday, when we would have written Monday's piece, Harry and I were travelling for a lot of the day.

TLDR: Some stuff came up, but we're back now. New Insight tomorrow, as regularly scheduled. Until then, here's the digest.

Everything from last week:

Why the French Election Matters | Insight
In France today, politics is about personality, not party, and that could spell real trouble for any democracy.
Philip explains how the personalization of French politics is showing in the current election, and why that's dangerous.
Does “Europe” Include Ukraine? | Insight
EU leadership is making Ukraine seem like a shoe-in. That dodges some hard—but vital—questions.
Ukraine joining the EU right now is a bad idea for many reasons, Harry argues.
Primary Exhaustion | Insight
The Democrats’ decision to change up the primary calendar is a welcome change. But primaries need bigger reforms.
The Democratic party looks to be shifting the primary calendar around, but it probably won't help things all that much.

One from the archive:

Bureaucratic Tyranny With Democratic Characteristics | Focus
Europe’s increasing attractiveness as a model for reformers in the United States, while justified, is cause for an evaluation of political tradeoffs.
This is an old one from Harry that we always liked. He explains the virtues and vices of bureaucracy.
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