U.S. Soft Power After USAID and Government Roles in Human Lifespan

Editors' Note

In late May, the U.S. Department of State announced a campaign alongside the Department of Homeland Security to revoke visas for Chinese students, sparking concerns that U.S. academic institutions could lose their prestigious reputations. For many African students, however, the shift from American colleges and universities is already underway. More than 81,000 African students were enrolled in Chinese universities in 2018 compared to more than 56,000 enrolled in U.S. schools in 2023. Those numbers suggest that U.S. institutions are losing their allure abroad and support the notion that American soft power is declining.

Former U.S. Coordinator for Global Health Security at the National Security Council Stephanie Psaki leads the week by commenting on the future of U.S. soft power following the return to an America First foreign policy. In an era where the country is "swapping a foreign policy based on long-held, bipartisan principles for one grounded in transactional relationships," altruistic, effective, and visible investments—such as those made by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief—generate soft power that enables the United States to set the broader agenda in world politics.

Next, global policy strategist Elana Banin discusses how artificial-intelligence frontier models could transform synthetic biology to help create more dangerous pathogens. Those evolving threats come as global health is being sidelined and defunded—a scenario that begs the United States to reclaim its leadership in biosecurity.

Following a trip in December 2024 to witness the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime, Diana Rayes, a Syrian American global health scholar, recounts the trauma her parents experienced after the Hama massacre in 1982. Rayes reflects on the genetics and psychology behind intergenerational trauma, and whether it shaped her memories and biology.

To wrap up, Think Global Health Research Associate Alejandra Martinez explores a new book, How Not to Die (Too Soon), which illustrates how governments' political choices influence how and when people perish. Author Devi Sridhar, professor and chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, writes that more than 90% of deaths from guns are homicides in stable countries.

Until next week!—Nsikan Akpan, Managing Editor, and Caroline Kantis, Associate Editor