IPEF: The Party Few Wanted to Attend

IPEF: The Party Few Wanted to Attend

The final document, released by US President Joseph Biden, ran to just over a page. It described the elements of the proposed framework, which include four pillars of activities. Only 12 governments have agreed to think about starting to discuss something in the future. Why was this party such a disaster? In a nutshell, because the US was promising to hold a very dull event. It was not just that the food and beverages were going to be either bland and uninteresting for some party goers or inedible for others. The proposed music was not danceable. But much worse, the hosts had a series of activities planned for the party. These activities were, in fact, mostly quite unpopular for the proposed guests. The individual games or plans were largely built to suit the hosts without much consideration of the needs or interests of potential guests. These activities are also set to continue long after the original launch party ends. Some could, in fact, take years to wrap up. Guests could be committed to regular gatherings for an indefinite amount of time. While some of the activities have titles that are unobjectionable, others may be quite problematic. The description of these events is so brief and so bland that almost any sort of outcome could be imagined. There is no way to tell how involved any guest will have to be at any given time. This sounds less like a fun party and a lot more like work.