WORLD ROUNDUPHow Defense Experts Got Ukraine Wrong | Populism’s Broken Economic Promises | China's Nuclear Submarine Nightmare Has Arrived, and more

U.S. Congress Finalizes Security Pact with Pacific Island Allies (Jessica Stone, VOA News)
Buried in the hundreds of pages of the continuing resolution passed Wednesday by U.S. lawmakers to prevent a government shutdown are Washington’s final steps to implement a 20-year security pact with Pacific Island allies, cementing a U.S. commitment to the region in the face of an increasingly assertive China.

Chinese Nuclear Submarine Sank During Construction, U.S. Says  (DW)
The Zhou-class attack submarine is China’s newest nuclear submarine. Satellite images indicate that it sank between May and June, according to US defense officials.

How Turkey is competing with China for influence in Africa  (Seda Sezer Bilen, DW)
Turkey is increasing its engagement in several African countries in an effort to boost its influence and trade. But with China and Russia being the dominant players there, Ankara is struggling to find its role.

German AfD Taps into Young Voters’ Fears, Disillusionment  (Hans Pfeifer, DW)
More and more young Germans support the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. It capitalizes on their pessimistic outlook and disappointment with other parties, experts say.

Be Kennedy, Not Kissinger: What Cold War Competition in Guinea and Angola Can Teach Us About U.S. Influence in Western Africa  (Nathan Heath, War on the Rocks)
The case of Guinea shows how personal engagement that values African nations and prioritizes their needs goes a long way toward building long-term partnerships with their governments.

How Defense Experts Got Ukraine Wrong  (Eliot A. Cohen and Phillips Payson O’Brien, The Atlantic)
On questions of war and peace, governments must hear from many types of experts.

China’s Nuclear Submarine Nightmare Has Arrived  (Brandon J. Weichert, National Interest)
China’s naval ambitions suffered a significant setback as reports emerged that a nuclear-powered attack submarine sank while still under construction. The incident, which occurred in the spring but was only recently revealed, has embarrassed Beijing and hindered its rapid naval expansion efforts.

Populism’s Broken Economic Promises (Manuel Funke, Christoph Trebesch, and Moritz Schularick, Foreign Affairs)
How Countries With Populist Leaders Get Left Behind

How to Prevent the ‘Grand Pandemic’  (Devex Partnerships, Devex)
Without political will and coordinated interventions, antimicrobial resistance could kill more than 10 million people a year by 2050 and plunge three times as many into poverty.