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A gruesome graph released prior to the Munich Security Conference listed 23 countries that will lose more than 1% of their national income if — despite a federal judge’s order — the USAID funding freeze lasts for a full year. Eight countries face a hit of 3% or more. Some will have had representatives among the 200 government leaders and ministers at the first major global gathering since the Trump administration’s attempt to dismember USAID, at an event that increasingly drills into development and the climate crisis as integral aspects for achieving security. With more than 30% of speakers hailing from the global south, would Munich witness a blowback from this assault on aid, perhaps the first green shoots of a global response to the United States’ retreat from an internationalist agenda? Not really. Instead, the 61st Munich Security Conference will be remembered for U.S. Vice President JD Vance delighting in the disintegration of the Western alliance while — to the fury of European leaders — cheering on far-right parties, some with their roots in fascism. The plight of low-income countries was addressed, but it was the trans-Atlantic tensions that grabbed the majority of headlines. So here's some of the critical development discussions you might've missed beyond the Vance aftershocks. |