Are Democrats Really the Party of the Left?, What India’s COVID Crisis Means for Africa, and More

A plan for marijuana policy reform, trade vulnerabilities for Africa, and the apparent paradox of the Democratic Party.

View in browser July 26, 2021 Have Democrats become a party of the left?   The current condition of the Democratic Party presents a paradox: on one hand, the party's ideological composition has shifted to the left; and on the other hand, moderates contributed more votes to Joe Biden's victory than did liberals. William Galston and Elaine Kamarck examine this paradox and what it means for electoral politics.   Read more What India's COVID-19 crisis means for Africa   As India's COVID-19 crisis worsened, African countries became more concerned about the potential for economic and trade-related spillovers. Vera Songwe and her co-authors explain the African market's dependency on Indian suppliers for certain products like pharmaceuticals and rice, and what leaders now need to do to beat the virus in Africa.   Read more Listen: A plan for marijuana policy reform   On a new episode of the Brookings Cafeteria podcast, John Hudak lays out a series of policy actions the Biden administration could take to promote justice and equity and to help reverse some of the disastrous consequences of the War on Drugs.   Listen to the podcast Help support Brookings with a donation   Brookings is committed to making its high-quality, independent policy research free to the public. Please consider making a contribution today to our Annual Fund to support our experts' work. The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brookings Institution campus in Washington, D.C. is currently closed and all events are virtual only. For more information on the Institution's response, read our full guidance here. The Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 Unsubscribe Manage your newsletter preferences | Receive the Brookings Brief less often