Nightly Nuance - March 16, 2021

Hello, my friends. Sometimes, I try to make the Nightly Nuance very harmonious with the podcast. This is not one of those times. We're taking a hard turn. 

I want to do two days of foreign policy. I know, I know...some of you do not love foreign policy. We can still be friends. I do think and hope these next two very short episodes are worth your time!  

Today, let's talk about the China-Russia "moonshot." Over the weekend, Roscosmos (my new favorite word to say and Russia's space agency) signed an agreement with the Chinese National Space Administration to create an International Scientific Lunar Station. This is...weird. Russia's space program has lagged far behind the commercial space industry in the US and China's space program. So, Russia doesn't have much to offer to China here. That's why we're going to examine this development as geopolitical more than scientific. 

Fred Kempe, the president and CEO of The Atlantic Council, has a strong analysis of this topic on CNBC (and his newsletter, which I highly recommend, even though...can we pump the brakes on excellent newsletters because yikes). The building of the International Space Station with Russia was a concrete demonstration of efforts to move on from the Cold War, and Russia is still participating at the ISS. (China can't because of US law -- we don't cooperate with the Chinese in space). 

This announcement seems like Russia is rejecting our invitation to join NASA's Artemis project, which will put the first woman on the moon by 2024 (Artemis, in Greek mythology, is Apollo's twin sister and the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, and the Moon, and if you have several hours, Jane Silvers would be delighted to tell you more). But, Russia's rejection is not official. 

This increasing strategic bond between Russia and China is happening as Russia is experiencing what Henry Foy calls Putin's "brutal third act." 

We're going to talk more about China before. If you're new here and/or if you need a foreign policy refresher and/or if you will allow me to convince you that you really do like foreign policy, here are some Nightly Nuances past that will provide good context for tomorrow's episode (I'll link them in the notes tomorrow, too): 

The South China Sea  

More on the South China Sea 

The Border Dispute between China and India 

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