Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- April 9, 2020

Cristina Maza, Business Insider: Authoritarian leaders are using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to lock up dissenters and grab power, human rights experts warn

* Under the premise of fighting the coronavirus, Hungary, Azerbaijan, El Salvador, Cambodia, and Uganda are granting leaders sweeping powers.
* Human rights activists worry authoritarian leaders are simply using the pandemic to crack down on dissent and grab power.
* The risk of emergency measures threatening freedom is greatest in dictatorships and weak democracies "without effective parliamentary control and an independent judiciary," human rights attorney Emin Abbasov said.

Country leaders, some of them from authoritarian regimes, are being accused of using the coronavirus pandemic to consolidate power and crack down on dissenters.

In March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a state of emergency that shut down the courts — including his own corruption trial — and allowed Shin Bet security forces to start tracking quarantine violators using their cellphones.

Later in the month, Hungary's parliament voted to cancel elections, suspend its own legislative power, and grant Prime Minister Viktor Orbán the right to rule by decree indefinitely, all under the premise of fighting COVID-19. It also introduced five-year jail sentences for anyone spreading "fake news" about the virus.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- April 9, 2020

Coronavirus is hurting America's place as a world leader while China appears to rise -- David Lipson, ABC News Online

China’s place in the post-COVID-19 new world order -- Bookworm Room

China leverages Covid-19 crisis in South China Sea -- Richard Javad Heydarian, Asia Times

Geopolitical jockeying in a time of pandemic -- Michael Auslin, Spectator

Afghan peace process: Is Washington running out of patience? -- Masood Saifullah, DW

Is America a Roaring Giant or Crying Baby? -- Victor Davis Hanson, National Review

Russia Is Well-Positioned to Weather COVID-19's Economic Fallout -- Chris Weafer, Russia Matters

Why AMLO Is Going It Alone, Again, on Coronavirus -- Benjamin Russell, America's Quarterly

Supply Chains and a Novel Path to Conflict -- George Friedman, Geopolitical Futures

Millions of coronavirus infections left undetected worldwide – study -- Melissa Sou-Jie Van Brunnersum, DW

Preserving Liberty While Harnessing the Power of Data in the Age of COVID-19 -- Neil Chilson, RCD

Bill Gates makes more coronavirus predictions, good and bad news -- Robert Delaney, SCMP

Coronavirus: Why more rats are being spotted during quarantine -- BBC