Commentary
Democracies are finally figuring out that they need to use their trump card—economics—to defend themselves.
The United States and Europe together have double the economic power of China and Russia combined, and could use it more effectively and proactively to put pressure on Moscow and Beijing through tariffs, sanctions, embargoes, export controls, and price caps. Economic pressure could end Russia and China’s territorial aggression or even democratize these two recalcitrant dictatorships.
A proposal for an economic version of NATO, the Western security alliance, is being advanced by former NATO leaders. Current administrations in the United States, Canada, Italy, and Ukraine support related economic coordination….