Good morning, Quartz readers!
The dollar is arguably Washington’s most powerful peacetime weapon. But when Donald Trump ignored his EU partners and reapplied sanctions on Iran—undermining a nuclear treaty that European leaders believe in—he added to a long list of officials who resent this financial ammunition. What’s striking is that, this time, the complaints aren’t just coming from Moscow and Caracas, but allies in Berlin.
Last week, Germany’s federal minister for foreign affairs, Heiko Maas, acknowledged a growing rift between the US and Europe, calling for the latter to consider building a bigger military, creating its own version of institutions like the World Bank, and perhaps even prying its bank payment channels apart from the dollar-dominated network. Maas’s point: The US is no longer a reliable partner.
Widening the US/Europe rift would suit Vladimir Putin just fine. Instead of the US-led “unipolar” structure that’s been in place since the Cold War, the Russian president is striving for a world controlled by regional powers, according to Otilia Dhand, a senior vice president at Teneo Intelligence. In a fragmented, divided system, Russia would have a more powerful seat at the table.
Putin can’t get there through direct confrontation—western alliances may be cracking, but they still greatly overpower Russia. So it makes sense that he would instead meddle in elections, engage in “information warfare,” undermine the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (paywall), and aid politicians who are eager to split the EU apart. As Trump alienates even the US’s closest and most immediate partners, like the UK and Canada, you can also expect Russia’s cyber machine to get more active and sophisticated.
This is bad news for western powers. There may be nothing to stop the US and Europe from growing apart. But if the shift is exacerbated by Russian manipulation, the fallout could be messier and more dangerous than it needs to be.—John Detrixhe
Five things on Quartz we especially liked
Lessons from 1825. The 1820s saw the creation of new financial instruments, the world’s first lending boom, and an upsurge in European money supply. As Gwynn Guilford explains, these innovations sped up globalization—which meant that when British banks hit the skids, the crisis spread quickly. Flash forward to Turkey and Argentina today, each facing similar consequences of “an era of easy money and frenzied financial globalization.”
What a village takes. Last month, the Trump Organization announced plans to spend $200 million building what’s essentially a small feudal-style town next to Trump’s golf course in Scotland. The company claims they’re paying in cash, but working out where that money came from is exceedingly difficult. Max de Haldevang goes fully down the rabbit hole.
History majors are history. Since the 2008 financial crisis, the share of US college students graduating with a degree in the humanities has continued to decline, as young adults instead gravitate toward job-oriented degrees in nursing and computer science. Dan Kopf looks at how the humanities could stage a comeback.
Senegal’s jam. When overcrowding overwhelms a city, is it better to just start over? Senegal is about to find out with the construction of Diamniadio, a futuristic $2 billion urban center close to Dakar, which the country is hoping to complete by 2035. New cities are not a new endeavor in Africa, writes Ilaria Maria Sala, but they do force a society to decide what it truly values.
Failure in the time of cholera. In an effort to cure cholera, doctors of yore tried poisonous mercury, burning patients’ heels, and warm belts as treatment methods, writes Katherine Foley. Their efforts show that it’s important to test out early, stupid ideas—and then learn from the bad results quickly and move on. Just like in any healthy workplace.
Five things elsewhere that made us smarter
Money for nothing. First come the robots, then come the paychecks? For The New Republic, Atossa Araxia Abrahamian reviews two new books—Annie Lowery’s Give People Money and David Graeber’s Bullshit Jobs—in search of an answer to an important question: In an age of automation, what is the meaning of work?
White supremacy’s global path of destruction. White nationalist propaganda has historically spread through the support of international networks, writes Christopher J. Lee for Africa is a Country. Understanding this context makes the furor over South Africa’s white farmers—and Trump’s tweet last week referring to them—less surprising, if not less threatening.
No “Renaissance man.” Actor and rapper Riz Ahmed slides seamlessly between dropping rhymes, appearing in blockbusters like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and starring in devastating dramas like The Night Of. In the New York Times Magazine (paywall), Carvell Wallace paints a portrait of how Ahmed challenges perspective in each role by tapping into his own experience.
Pot or not? Trump has said he “really” supports legislation that would let state marijuana legalization thrive, but the White House’s Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee is asking officials to only portray pot in a negative light. For BuzzFeed News, Dominic Holden looks at the administration’s secret war on weed.
Growing up off the grid. Between the ages of seven and 19, Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja lived alone in a deserted Spanish mountain range, where he says wolves sheltered and protected him. For the Guardian, Matthews Bremner talks to Pantoja 50 years after he was found about the unique struggle of learning to be human.
Our best wishes for a relaxing but thought-filled weekend. Please send any news, comments, cholera treatments, and positive pot stories to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day, or download our apps for iPhone and Android. Today’s Weekend Brief was edited by Kira Bindrim.