Tag: COVID-19

Coronavirus and the (Wannabe) Dictators

In December of last year, the Chinese state jailed a physician in the city of Wuhan. His crime? Attempting to warn authorities against the occurrence of a potentially contagious and deadly new virus. The physician, Dr. Li Wenliang, has since died from the same disease whose spread he tried to contain.

Ramadan and Social Responsibility During Coronavirus

Muslims have just celebrated Eid al-Fitr, the festival that marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. The month of fasting, which is demanding in itself, has been even harder this year with the current social distancing requirements. Usually the high point of each day would be gathering with family and friends to break… Read more »

The Nordic Countries and Sweden: the battle against COVID-19 continues

This piece is part of our blog series Beyond the COVID Curve. COVID-19 has quickly changed everything from our daily routines, to the policies of governments, to the fortunes of the global economy. How will it continue to shape society and the conditions for peace and conflict globally in the near future and long after we… Read more »

Norway’s Smittestopp (‘Infection Stop’) App as a Socio-Legal Problem

At the time of writing in early May 2020, Norwegians have in many ways escaped lightly from the first phase of the pandemic. The outbreak was contained at an early stage, the number of cases is low and there have been few deaths. In addition, Norway has money in the bank to secure basic welfare… Read more »

Afghanistan’s road to peace: what about the fighters?

After a year and a half of negotiations in Doha, the United States and the Taliban signed a peace agreement on 29 February. Essentially the agreement provided that the Taliban, in return for the withdrawal of international forces, would not allow Al Qaeda or similar groups to use Afghan soil to threaten the United States… Read more »

Can We Combat Conspiracy Theories about Pandemics?

Did you know that HIV was created by the US government in order to oppress the country’s African American population? Or that researchers engineered the Zika virus to ruin Brazil’s hosting of the 2016 Olympics? Or that coronavirus is linked to the roll-out of 5G mobile networks? This piece is part of our blog series Beyond… Read more »

The Colombian Peace Process Effort and COVID-19

On 23rd March 2020 the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for a global ceasefire to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Given the ambition of Colombia’s peace agreement and the strong support of the international community for its implementation, it is worth asking: how is the pandemic affecting the peace process?

COVID-19 in Yemen: Willingness and capacity of conflict parties

This piece is part of our blog series Beyond the COVID Curve. COVID-19 has quickly changed everything from our daily routines, to the policies of governments, to the fortunes of the global economy. How will it continue to shape society and the conditions for peace and conflict globally in the near future and long after we… Read more »

Afghanistan’s Corona Threat Contagion Knows No Borders

This piece is part of our blog series Beyond the COVID Curve. COVID-19 has quickly changed everything from our daily routines, to the policies of governments, to the fortunes of the global economy. How will it continue to shape society and the conditions for peace and conflict globally in the near future and long after we… Read more »

Drones in the Time of Pandemic: Caution Behind the Hype

The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has mobilized national and international resources of all types, from funding of medical research to financial rescue plans, and has led to widespread state of emergency declarations. While the approaches adopted all over the world have differed from one country to another, an underlying trend connecting many of the… Read more »