In June 2012, the world narrowly escaped a catastrophe. On a global scale, communication systems would have been damaged, possibly resulting in blackouts, disruptions to supply chains and break-down of basic services. The warning time would have been a few hours at most, the recovery could have taken years and could have cost up to trillions of dollars. What sounds like a terrible hacker attack or act of sabotage would have had a natural cause: one of the largest solar storms ever recorded, which missed the Earth only by a small margin.

What is space weather?

Our solar system can be a rough place. The sun is continuously emiting a wide variety of high-energy radiation. Usually, we are protected from this radiation by the earth’s magnetic field and our atmosphere. However, extreme solar activities such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections can severely disturb our daily life. When the radiation penetrates our shielding atmosphere, high electro-magnetic fields can directly damage electrical infrastructure such as telecommunication, power grids and transport networks. Satellite infrastructure is even more vulnerable. The result of extreme solar activities can range from economical losses to supply shortages up to a global scale. Since society relies more and more on sophisticated technology, its vulnerability to the so-called space weather increased.

Influence on the finance sector

In the finance industry, for example, the space weather can impact precise time measurements. For all financial transactions, trading and risk management, precise time stamps are needed. Normally, accurate timing is provided by the Global Navigation Satellite System. In case of an extreme space weather event, satellite systems are not reliable anymore. Then, emergency systems need to maintain timing such as land-based connections to atomic clocks (e.g. provided by the national metrology institutes) or the usage of holdover oscillators. If such alternative technologies are not available or used, financial transactions and trading need to complety halt for the time being. A historic example is the March 1989 geomagnetic storm where Toronto‘s stock exchange had to stop any activities due to a solar storm.

Fig. 1: Current forecasts of near-Earth solar wind from the ESA Space Weather Service Network, © ESA

Risks in interconnected infrastructure

The financial system is just one part of our complex modern-day society. Understanding the influence of space weather events on single components such as satellites is rather straight-forward. However, due to the high interconnection of technology, damages can cascade through different layers of infrastructure. So far, these interactions are not fully understood. The timing loss in financial systems can affect the electricity market and thus, the power grid which effects almost all industries and supply chains. Therefore, critical services can even be indirectly vulnerable due to their dependencies on other infrastructures.

Mitigation

Possible mitigation strategies include building early-warning systems and decreasing dependencies from other infrastructure. The weather forecasting and national risk-assessment programmes in the US and some European countries already consider the impact of space weather. National institutions such as the UK Met Office offer alert systems and technical guidance while both NASA and ESA operate space weather services. Nonetheless, forecasting precision and warning times are still limited. Thus, both governments and businesses need to further strengthen their resilience to extreme space weather events and coordinate their actions on an international level. Close cooperation between regulatory bodies, industry and research is key for gaining sufficient data and developing suitable solutions for the whole society. In the last years, significant efforts have been made to protect critical infrastructure but even today, geomagnetic storms can cause significant damages.

Literature

J. Wattles (2022): SpaceX will lose up to 40 satellites it just launched due to a solar storm. CNN Business

E. Krausmann et al. (2014): Space Weather and Financial Systems: Findings and Outlook. JRC Science and Policy Reports

T. Phillips (2014): Near Miss: The Solar Superstorm of July 2012. NASA Science

R. Sanders (2014): Fierce solar magnetic storm barely missed Earth in 2012. Berkley News

C. M. Ngwira et al. (2013): Simulation of the 23 July 2012 extreme space weather event: What if this extremely rare CME was Earth directed? Space Weather Vol. 11 Issue 12

D. N. Baker et al. (2012): A major solar eruptive event in July 2012: Defining extreme space weather scenarios. Space Weather Vol. 10 Issue 11

L. Dayton (1989): Solar storms halt stock market as computers crash. New Scientist

On October 19th, 2022 Estonian ambassador to Germany, Alar Streimann, and the Estonian Embassy hosted CISS and 25 interested students and young professionals in an informal and friendly environment. After a short introduction to current Estonian politics and history from CISS co-director for Eastern Europe to Central Asia, Lance Bradley, Ambassador Streimann provided a detailed look into foreign policy challenges for Estonia before the floor was opened up for discussion.

Many attendees knew something about Estonia already, but also gained new insights about Estonia’s role in the EU and how strongly Estonia supports Ukraine. Participants were also able to learn about diplomatic life in Berlin and some historical developments of the Estonian diplomatic service following the re-establishment of Estonian independence in 1991.

During the event, all participants could enjoy the ambience of the beautiful Estonian Embassy, one of the oldest in Berlin continually used by the same country. Furthermore, the embassy had many examples of Estonian artwork for participants to enjoy both before and after our joint discussion with the ambassador.

For information about upcoming events like this, keep an eye on the CISS website and our social media! Big thanks to the Estonian embassy for hosting us and helping us kick off the new “Fireside Chat” series!

Fireside chat with Estonian Ambassador Alar Streimann. Photo: CISS

On October 19th at 18:00, we are meeting up with Estonian Ambassador to Germany, Alar Streimann, at the Estonian Embassy in Berlin where we will have drinks, snacks, and an open and friendly discussion.

Estonia is a country known for e-governance and a hip tech start-up scene, but Estonia has much more to offer than just that. The small nation joined with its Baltic neighbors to fight for the reinstalment of their independence in the early 1990s, and now Estonia is playing a huge role in supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. Economically and politically, Estonia has gone from a little-known country struggling with its own identity to a major player in the European Union within the last decades.

How to participate

Please register at info@ciss.eu with your name, organization, and position (i.e. Max Mustermann, Humboldt University, student). The list of participants is limited to 25 persons, so don’t miss this opportunity to register in advance.

For security purposes, the Estonian Embassy also needs this information and kindly asks all participants to bring a photo-ID with them to the event. The event will be held in English.

You can find the previous article on Foreign Feminist Policy here.
The interview was held by Janine Röttgerkamp.

CISS: To get started, Kristina, could you please define in your own words what a Feminist Foreign Policy is.
KL: Sure. At the CFFP, we define Feminist Foreign Policy as the attempt to dismantle patriarchal structures in foreign and security policy. Foreign and security policy, like all areas in our society, has been influenced by patriarchy for thousands of years. This means that issues and characteristics such as dominance, oppression, and military strength dominate, while human rights, and especially the rights of political minorities such as LGBTQI persons and women, are not given such a high priority. Political realism supports the assumption that anarchy prevails at the state level because there is no world government. This assumption leads to these strategies of dominance and control. We want to change that. As we know through research the most sustainable factor in terms of whether a country is violent internally and externally is the level of equality within the country. That means that without an intersectional feminist approach to foreign policy, there can be no sustainable peace.

CISS: The first feminist demands by women on foreign policy are still relevant today. Can you elaborate on what those demands were and also explain in general what the demands of a Feminist Foreign Policy are today?
KL: This first meeting you’re referring to was in 1915 in The Hague when about 1500 feminists from all over the world came together to express their outrage and discontent with the war. They ended up with twenty demands that are still very relevant. One of the most important, which historically builds the foundation of feminist efforts in foreign and security policy, is the demand for dismantling the industrial military complex. As long as a system allows companies to make profits from the proliferation of weapons in war and conflict, there will be no real peace.
In addition, women at that time called for the democratization of foreign policy and mediation as the main means of conflict resolution.

CISS: What happened after that meeting in The Hague?
KL: The 1915 meeting prompted a follow-up conference in Zürich in 1917, from which the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) emerged. Many of the feminists in this tradition have contributed significantly to the Nuclear Ban Treaty and the Arms Trade Treaty, which was the first international arms treaty to include a provision on gender-based violence.
Countries like Sweden – the first country to introduce a Feminist Foreign Policy in 2014 – or Canada, which is currently working on its white paper on FFP, or Mexico and Spain stand in this tradition of more than a hundred years and on the shoulders of these feminists in foreign and security policy.

CISS: You mentioned that countries with more equal societies are more peaceful. Why is that the case?
KL: A society where an elite of white men have the most power and resources, and everyone else is subordinate to that, is characterized by very strong hierarchies, which are maintained through violence. Male violence against women is omnipresent. But these hierarchies also exist against other political minorities. We only have to look at racialized violence, violence against LGBTQI people, or people with disabilities. It all serves to maintain the power of the few. When we start to break down those hierarchies, and in doing so, move towards a more equal and fair society for all, we break down those systems of violence at the same time.

CISS: How about the finding that peace processes last longer when women are involved in the negotiations?
KL: This study by Jamille Bigio and Rachel Vogelstein, published by the Council of Foreign Relations, found that peace processes last longer when women and other political minorities are involved. That’s because transition processes, where states come together after years of violence to start a new chapter, can only really work if we bring all the realities, experiences, desires, and needs to the table. In the end, politics can only be as good as the people who make these political decisions are diverse.

CISS: And how does the CFFP work to ensure that this scientific evidence acted upon in foreign policy?
KL: At the CFFP, we focus on six main areas, which are listed on our website under Project Overview [author’s note: these are anti-racism, feminist nuclear politics, demilitarization and disarmament, climate justice, combating anti-gender movements, and Women, Peace and Security].
For example, we look at how the aforementioned hierarchies are maintained through weapons and the military. That concerns smaller weapons as well as nuclear weapons. We are huge fans of and cooperate a lot with Beatrice Fihn and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).
On behalf of Greenpeace, we did a study on ‘Exporting Violence and Inequality. The Interlinkages between German Arms Exports and Gender-Based Violence’. It contains concrete demands on what Germany should do to counter this status quo of ever more militarization and armed violence. Germany, as measured by the federal budget, spends more money on defense strategies than on health, for example. We have now seen that this is not very sustainable and helpful when there is a global pandemic.

CISS: Do you have another example?
KL: We also look at the UN Security Council’s Women Peace and Security Agenda and try to bring in a greater focus on LGBTQI rights. Since the 90s, but especially over the last four to six years, women’s and LGBTQI rights are being attacked at the international level. Emanating from the Vatican historically, it now also comes from some states. In this regard, Turkey is currently very prominent, but also the USA under Trump, Brazil, the Philippines, Hungary, or Poland. Attempts are being made to maintain this old world order by withdrawing from conventions like the Istanbul Convention, establishing LGBTQI-free zones, or restricting women’s access to reproductive health care and thus the right to self-determination.
At the CFFP we are advocating for an intersectional and just world order instead.

CISS: Let’s talk about how Feminist Foreign Policy relates to climate justice. Why is the climate crisis a threat to security and what intersections play into it?
KL: Climate justice means that the climate catastrophe is not just seen as an environmental issue, but a social justice issue. It’s important for us to convey that when crises happen, it’s always those who are already furthest down the hierarchies in a patriarchal society who are most affected. The movement for climate action and climate justice has historically been led by Indigenous People and People of Color, who have consistently called attention to the fact that the destruction of our planet primarily affects these same people. Also, research by Valerie Hudson et al. shows the connection between equality and sustainable peace. It illustrates the following connection: the more patriarchal a society is the more it destroys the environment. So, the global patriarchal system, which is closely linked to colonialism and capitalism, is clearly connected to the destruction of our planet. That is a security issue. That’s why Feminist Foreign Policy focuses on the concept of human security rather than state security.
This nexus between climate justice and security, however, has been insanely neglected, and for many years states like Russia and China, but also others in the United Nations Council, have argued that this is not a serious problem. But something is starting to change. Germany, for example, has established an Informal Group on climate security in the United Nations Security Council in 2019/20.

CISS: Finally, what are the measures and tools that the CFFP has to change the current status quo?
KL: We do that through analysis and concrete proposals concerning resources, institutional changes, and political leadership. During the pandemic, we wrote an analysis for the German Federal Foreign Office on why Covid-19 is a feminist concern and what should be done to internationally counter the pushback against women’s rights during the pandemic. We give concrete examples of how arms export control should be changed to align with feminist values. Furthermore, we are currently writing demands for a Feminist Foreign Policy for the new German government after the upcoming elections. These include the issues of migration, climate, disarmament, defense of human rights but also institutional changes.
It finally needs to be said ‘ok we fucked up in the past and now it’s time we get it right’.

CISS: That was a powerful closing statement! Thank you very much for your time, Kristina.

For centuries, patriarchy has been upheld as a system that defines human existence and continues to shape not only the individual but the public sphere extending up to the highest levels of organizational forms and policymaking. Correspondingly, foreign policy is characterized by patriarchy and based on related values such as supremacy, dominance, and military armament. These principles have yet to eliminate poverty, secure world peace, and guarantee a sustainable management of resources. To achieve the aforementioned aims a strategy change in linking feminism to world politics is strongly recommended.

Feminist approaches to policymaking are not a novum but have been researched by scholars since the 1980s. Leading elements are prevention instead of intervention, civil instead of military measures, a security concept integrating human rights and especially gender, as well as the inclusion of all social groups in policymaking.
In 2014 Sweden was the first country globally to introduce a Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP). This visionary step institutionalized intersectional feminism as a concept on the international stage. Sweden has since been followed by Canada and Mexico, as well as other countries that announced to adopt feminist policies, such as France, Hawaii, Luxembourg, and Spain. Statistics generally show that intersectional feminist approaches to politics do make the world a more secure place. For example, peace negotiations are more likely to last if women are involved in the process.

The Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy defines FFP as an approach that critically reflects on hierarchical global systems and that aims to exalt women’s and marginalized groups’ agencies to overcome the destructive forces of patriarchy, racism, colonization, heteronormativity, capitalism, imperialism, and militarism. FFP offers an intersectional approach, strives towards global equality, a redistribution of power, and a prioritization of human rights. By equalizing representation, incorporating gender and anti-discriminatory perspectives to all decision-making as well as collecting sex-aggregated data among others, FFP moves away from a historically male bias which is responsible for the fact that people who do not define themselves exclusively as male, more than 50% of humanity, are routinely disadvantaged in foreign police. Instead, FFP works towards policymaking with all people in mind. By creating a new outlook on how policies have to be designed and implemented, it has the potential to be the most promising and sustainable method to eliminate poverty and war, growing authoritarianism, fight climate change, and secure a safe future for everyone. It additionally includes the Women, Peace, and Security agenda. However, even goes beyond it calling for a system change and integral reorientation of International Relations on a global scale.

The field of International Relations is subject to processes of change and currently finds itself at a major junction. We now have the opportunity to set out for a future in Foreign Policy that lives up to its promise of peace and security through acknowledging intersectional equality and the discontinuation of international power structures as a central factor to achieving an equal and inclusive world with lasting peace. Feminist Foreign Policy sets out to accomplish this by reversing hegemonic structures and narratives in International Relations.

Detailed information and policy advice on Feminist Foreign Policy can be found at the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy (CFFP), the Oxford Research Encyclopedia, or the Handbook of Sweden’s Government on Feminist Foreign Policy among others.

Enhancing oversight over economic and political actors
The “sticks” are measures that improve the oversight over political and economic actors. They are necessary because of closed circles of power between the government and private sector which are one of the main reasons for rent-seeking.
The integration of lower segments of the society has historically been key to improve the oversight over the government, as shown by Rueschemeyer et al. One instructive case is the farmer’s protests against the collectivisation of the Vietnamese agriculture in the 80s shown by Pingali and Xuan: During the land reform, the Communist party integrated peasants into the party who consequently formed their power basis. When the government began to collectivise the agriculture, they organised major protests, and the party leadership understood that their policies were not satisfying a majority of the people, which was, importantly, threatening their power base. Thus, they not only partially reversed on collectivisation, but also introduced the first steps towards economic liberalisation which formed the basis of Vietnamese success.
To improve oversight over economic actors, Altenburg and Lütkenhorst propose to design industrial policy making in a sequential way. That means industrial policy making should include regular checks on the effectiveness of the realised policies in order to withdraw state support when deemed appropriate. Once again, Vietnam provides an instructive example for the successful realisation of this (details on this case can be read in this publication by Page, Tarp, and the World Institute for Development Economics Research): It set up a council of retired government officials without their own businesses who were responsible for industrial policy. This ensured that they had a high degree of independence as they had neither career aspirations, nor business interests on their own. Thus, they could regularly check the policies and change them independently which ensured a sequential and gradualist industrial policy making. They were responsible for important steps for Vietnam’s economic success, such as the introduction of the Enterprise Law, which allowed the free operation of businesses and thus laid the foundation of the introduction of a market economy.
Another important part of controlling economic actors is that governments have to establish criteria to decide which enterprises they support. In the past, many governments have used export targets as such a criterion. The Chinese evaluation system for local officials provides a compelling example, described by Page, Tarp, and the World Institute for Development Economics Research: Embedded in a taxation reform, the central government based their evaluation on local economic performance. Thus, in order to minimise the risk to get a bad evaluation, local officials decided to support the enterprises that were already performing well which they found in the light-manufacturing export-oriented sector.
Export performance is a clear criterion which allows the state to control the private sector and it has been used successfully in other cases of late-comer industrialisation as well. As evidenced by Wolf, however, a high degree of competition on export markets due to Chinese dominance, as well as the high number of countries using this strategy to industrialise simultaneously means that export markets in general cannot be the main basis for industrialization today. Thus, export performance criteria have to be complemented by others. One criterion might be sales on the domestic market, but the discussion has to continue on this topic.

Fighting poverty is essential for successful industrial policy
The “carrots” are necessary, because enterprises have to sell their products on markets in order to stay profitable. As just mentioned, using the export market for this becomes increasingly difficult. This implies that rising wages for everybody is important because industrial development is built on mechanisation, as shown by Elsenhans. Mechanisation means that enterprises invest in buying machines which produce a large number of relatively simple products. In order to pay for this investment, these products have to be sold. Thus, ensuring that the people living in the respective country have enough money to actually buy these products crucially supports industrialisation. In addition, ensuring rising wages incentivise entrepreneurs to invest in more machinery because they can sell their products in the future, too. Thus, rising wages also provide an important incentive for enterprises to invest resources in productivity increases instead of rent-seeking.
Consequently, policy makers should consider how the state can promote domestic demand in order to allow enterprises to make profits because there the free market does not automatically ensure increasing wages. This is because in many developing economies, high levels of unemployment lead to a power imbalance between employers and employees: Every time employees demand a wage increase, the employer can just fire them and hire new employees from the big pool of unemployed. This means that employees cannot enforce higher wages although their productivity rises because of rising educational levels or more experience. Thus, State interventions in order to reduce poverty, to increase wages and consequently increase domestic demand are crucial to the success of industrial policies.
How can we achieve this? Although many government interventions to support domestic demand are not allowed today by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the following measures are still realisable for policy makers in this regard:

(1) The support and reform of the agricultural sector,
(2) setting up a universal social security system,
(3) promoting employment and education at the same time.

Increasing agricultural yields is important for a number of reasons: Firstly, food security is not a given in all developing countries. Thus, by promoting the agricultural sector, governments ensure that all their citizens have enough food to eat. In addition, they become independent from imports from the world market which ensures that they are independent from food speculation increasing the stability of food supply. Furthermore, this enables them to devaluate their currency in order to make their products cheaper on the world market: If their food supply remained dependent on imports, they could not do this, as it would increase prices.
Land reforms are an important step towards food security. Page, Tarp, and the World Institute for Development Economics Research show that land reforms were most successful when they redistributed land to the peasants. This is evidenced by the East Asian experience in comparison to Latin America: The successful industrialisers in Asia undertook land reforms, enabling peasants to profit directly from their harvests and giving them direct access to food which considerably increased incentives to work harder on the fields. Whereas in Latin America, the feudal systems stayed more or less intact and industrialisation did not take off. The experience of Communist countries shows that agricultural yields went up after the breakdown of the feudal system but decreased when land was collectivised because it led to lacking incentives to increase the yields. Thus, land reforms without collectivisation seem to be the key to success. In addition, Ghosh shows that agricultural yields have been increased by investments in higher productivity in the successful cases of industrialisation.
We can learn from comparing Latin America and East Asia that a universal social security system is superior than a targeted one. This is because a more targeted system was used in many cases to ensure support from certain social groups, such as urban workers in the case of Latin America, as shown by Haggard and Kaufman. Although this at least improves the lives of some people, it perpetuates dependency from the government and thus decreases oversight over political actors which is detrimental to industrial policy and industrial development. In the East Asian countries, which achieved food security via land reforms and secured political support via economic growth, the States only provided a backbone social security system. It provided for the most basic needs, like old age pensions or education, but it was more universal than in Latin America. However, there is no reason to not expand it in later phases of industrialisation: As described by Tang, many East Asian countries enlarged their social security systems during the short periods of democratisation in the 1980s.
In order to increase the workers’ wages, it is important to increase their productivity so that the enterprises can afford to pay them higher wages. Productivity can be increased by incentivising enterprises from industrialised countries to invest in the country so that they bring their advanced technology which can be adopted by the domestic firms. This makes it immediately clear that this kind of investment should be connected to the domestic economy, e.g. by forming joint-ventures between domestic and foreign firms, as was the case in successful industrialisers described by Chang, Hauge, and Irfan. Governments should not rely on foreign investment too much, however, as its rates are declining globally, according to Cimoli, Dosi and Stiglitz.
Another way is to promote education: Formal education has played an important role for the success of all the East Asian economies, especially concerning the education of engineers. This can be accompanied by efforts to promote informal learning, such as promoting exposure of entrepreneurs to the newest trends, consumer demands, technologies and business ideas.
It is important to create employment at the same time because well-educated workers for whom there is not enough work are not able to profit from their education. And even if they are employed but there are not enough jobs, they cannot claim higher wages as already explained. Suitable sectors are those which match the countries’ needs for development as well as the educational endowment of the population. In the past, this was the export-oriented light manufacturing industry. This is not feasible anymore, however, so that new sectors have to be found. Wolf shows that Angola promoted the agro-alimentary industry, the construction materials industry, the iron and steel industry, wood processing, and chemical industry in the framework of an industrial policy using the domestic market which led to high growth rates of the manufacturing sector. Furthermore, as shown by the Chinese experience, it is important to open up the economy gradually in order to avoid job losses in the manufacturing sector due to foreign competition.

Making industrial policy work means to go beyond the confrontation between “the state” and “the market”
In order to make industrial policy work, it is necessary to go beyond the “Unproductive Confrontation” criticised by one of the godfathers of industrial policy, namely Ha-Joon Chang. But it is a different confrontation than the one he refers to, namely between “the state” and “the market” which can be seen to be very inter-related. By introducing the concept of rent, we can see that State interventions to support domestic demand (which I called “carrots”) do not stop enterprises from trying to get money from the state. Without ensuring that enterprises can become profitable by using these interventions, however, the institutions to improve control over political and economic actors (which I called “sticks”) will also not be enough to stop the enterprises from rent-seeking. Or, in other words, setting up the basic institutions of a market economy without underpinning it by ensuring that people can actually buy the products that are made by the enterprises operating on these markets will lead to a failure of industrial policy.

COVID-19 is an example of a zoonotic disease keeping the world in suspense. The outbreak was first noted in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. A first case was confirmed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on the 27th February, 2020 in Lagos state on an Italian business traveller. The NCDC immediately activated the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) to work closely with the state health authorities to respond to the case by identifying the social contacts of the patient since he entered the country. A presidential task force was established to respond to threats posed by the outbreak and additionally to cooperate with the State Government to curtail the deadly virus.

Lagos, commercial capital of Nigeria is the epicentre of the virus in Nigeria. NCDC reports on April 9: 288 confirmed cases, 51 recovered and discharged, 7 deaths. Lagos alone lists 158 record persons.

The government introduced further measures to slow down the spread of the virus. Ports of entry are put on close monitoring. It provided toll-free number to contact NCDC and other platforms. The government also identified contacts with suspected COVID-19 individuals and ensured isolation and follow up. In addition, there was provision of prompt and reliable updates and daily messages from the NCDC to individual’s contact.

About the author: Name – Sanusi Hiqmah Ifedolapo Itorobong / School – Lagos State University / Course of study – Zoology and environmental biology

Germany: The Storm before the Storm

Summer-like temperatures and the corona crisis hit Germany almost simultaneously, seemingly making contact-restrictions more durable. But march temperatures of 1.07°C warmer compared to last century’s average are just another indicator that the real crisis is yet to come: climate change and its consequences. When escaping into German forests these days, local traces of climate change are ever more visible; consecutive droughts have led to forests’ condition being worse than 1984, when the fear of forest deaths traumatized a whole generation.

Germany’s environmental minister has finally highlighted the correlation between environmental destruction and the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and promised preventative environmental protection. Similarly, the current economic downturn shifted Germany’s rather poor performance in reaching its 2020 climate goals: in opposition to pre-corona forecasts, Germany is now projected to outdo its aim of a 40% CO2 reduction compared to 1990 levels by 5%.

Alas, dominant narratives continuously shape the crumbling of the economic-growth paradigm as a momentary loss rather than an opportunity to mitigate the next crisis. The idea of business-as-usual politics post-corona is crushing nascent hope that lessons learnt will abandon short-term profits for long-sighted sustainable environmental, economic, and social policy. Although civil society might currently be in slumber, the time to demand our government to take urgent action is now. A walk in the forest will prove its urgency.

About the author: Tatjana Söding holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Politics with a special focus on sustainability and sociology from University College Maastricht. The question that concerns her most is, how, in light of the climate crisis, current political, economic, and social structures can be transformed to guarantee societal and environmental justice. She will further explore this in an upcoming Master’s in political ecology.

Panama: Panama and its handling of the COVID19 Pandemic

Panama has undertaken rather strict measures to cope with the spread of COVID-19, by gradually increasing the intensity of the confinement rules. As for now, there are no signs of their easing. Panama’s way of tackling the issue is very polemic as the people face one of the strongest restrictions compared to other Latin American countries (followed by Peru). Those restrictions consist of separating between men and women: Women are allowed to leave their homes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and men on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. On Sundays, the whole country is on lockdown and everybody has to stay at home. During the respective days, people are only allowed to be outside for a maximum of two hours and only to run the most important errands such as grocery shopping. A hard schedule must be followed (determined by the last digit of each person’s ID).

Besides, an alcohol ban has been imposed almost from the beginning. Very few businesses can open their doors at this point, which has dramatically impacted the economy. Panama has a small population with a service-centered economy. Although its GDP is one of the highest in the region, the country does not have much room to endure a total shutdown of the economy, nor the financial cushion to implement massive bailouts or social relieves like those adopted by some European countries or the United States.

While the measures seem to pay off as the curve is flattening, the cost appears to be high. The restrictions threaten many people´s mental health, for example, suicide rates are increasing. As Panamanians are warm people who cherish social interaction, social distancing measures are more difficult to fully implement, meaning that such heavy controls seem to be the only way out of the COVID-19 crisis.

About the author: Humberto Vivas is a Venezuelan lawyer. He lives in Panama and is working as a Research Analyst in a multi-national compliance firm.

Mongolia:

Concerns about the Coronavirus were not on the minds of the numerous people enjoying the warm days of spring in Mongolia over the last days. However, almost everyone was wearing a mask on the street.

Mongolia is a land that has a border with China and is at high risk of a quick spread of the pandemic virus. However, to date (April 10^th), Mongolia has reported only 17 infected cases, with no reported death and no domestic transmission. The Mongolian government was quick in launching and implementing measures to combat the coronavirus. A few days after China announced the first cases, the Mongolian government closed the border to China and all schools and cancelled public events. But shops and restaurants could remain open, and some people were able to work from home.

It was surprising that the public reaction to the coronavirus outbreak was relatively calm and citizens followed the measures and advices announced by officials seriously. This might be due to the public information campaign conducted by the Health Ministry and the National Emergency Commission. Their press conference was broadcasted across local media outlets to inform the public. It showed that access to information and transparency strengthen social trust and voluntary cooperation – especially in a public health crisis.

Mongolians also showed generous willingness to help and donate, even though, no one asked them to. Some companies closed the doors temporarily and some of them offered their services online, which reduced physical contacts. However, we have already started to face some impacts of COVID-19, such as the beginning of an economic crisis, unemployment, and social stress. Unfortunately, there has not been any good solution observed to deal with these negative effects.

About the author: Mungunchimeg Batkhuyag is currently living in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and holds a Master’s Degree in Peace and Conflict Studies of the University of Magdeburg, Germany. Mungunchimeg is interested in environmental communication and public policy.

With the global spread of COVID-19, some countries are dealing not only with the downfall of health systems and economies but also with challenges to democracy. The foundation of the Serbian democratic society is on the verge of breaking and sliding into authoritarianism.

One of the clearest traits of authoritarian governing can be seen in the unlawful move of president Aleksandar Vučić, who suspended the National Assembly and declared the state of emergency, thereby violating the Constitution art. 200(1). This article gives power primarily to the Assembly to declare the state of emergency. Even though the opposition party Dosta je bilo has invited the deputies to raise their voices against the unconstitutional governing of the state, there have been no repercussions. This could be due to 154/250 deputies in the Assembly being affiliated with the leading political party, upcoming parliamentary elections and party employment trend. Such a trend implies that people who are affiliated with the party are more likely to get state jobs, thus, many find themselves in the situation of giving the support to maintain their positions. Arguably, this can be one of the reasons why only eight deputies responded to the complaints made by the opposition. While Vučić is spreading fear and panic, continuously mentioning thousands of deaths as a consequence of the COVID-19 spread, the crisis is being politicized and also used for vote gathering. This especially happened during a 60h long curfew (Friday-Monday), where the party volunteers go door-to-door with a food package encouraging people to vote for the party in the upcoming elections.

Whenever a deep crisis occurs in one society, there is also a chance to rebuild something new, something better. With the growing political awakening amongst the citizens seen in year-long anti-government protests as well as the discontent with the current measurements, this can very much be a turning point for a return to democracy.

About the Author: Ana Mandinic is a master student of International Politics at KU Leuven. She is focusing on societies in transitions to democracies, human ecology and the development field.

In times of Corona – Panama

My wife and I have seen first-hand how the coronavirus pandemic radically changed lives in a short time-frame, not only in Panama, but also across Latin America. Ironically, many of us saw it coming as we watched the news of how the virus was spreading quickly from other regions around the world since January 2020 – but few people in this small country expected that the pandemic would cross its borders by early March.

Unfortunately, many Latin American governments started taking effective action when it was already too late to prevent or to slow down the accelerated contagion rates. However, I think that the response from the Panamanian government was adequate and according to international standards since the first cases were reported. The borders of the country remain closed, and compulsory quarantine measures were put in place since mid-March; obviously, many of us have had to continue working from home, and interacting with friends and relatives from long distance. Although the lockdown measures sometimes feel a bit painful, I agree they are for the best interest of society.

I also think that these times have provided opportunities to show solidarity, as this can be noted in efforts taken in both public and private sectors to provide financial support, medical aid, and food supplies to people in need. Some examples of these efforts include the implementation of a logistics platform that the Panamanian government provided to the International Red Cross, for the storage and transportation of medicine, hygiene and safety products to neighboring countries (“Hub Humanitario Panama”); as well as the implementation of government policies to provide economic subsidies, healthcare and food packages to low-income households; in addition to the charitable donations of money, food, and medical supplies by private citizens and corporations to healthcare institutions and non-government organizations. It is hard to imagine how will the near future look like, but I am sure that our world will not be the same, when we go back to our daily activities outdoors.

About the author: Raul Lujan Anaya , 34 years old,  is an International Lawyer who currently provides compliance advisory in the management consulting industry. Mexican, he holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy by the City University of Hong Kong, where he lived for more than four years.
He currently works for The Red Flag Group’s office in Panama City.

Spain

As I needed an urgent medicine last night and only wanted to be accompanied by my boyfriend to the pharmacy in the dark, we got stopped and asked by police officers what we would be up to. Instead of listening why we were walking together, we were warned and told to go back home and not leave the house together. As I lacked this remedy and didn’t feel comfortable walking by myself later without him, I told my boyfriend to take the other route back home which would pass another pharmacy. However, two of the police officers and another four (!) stopped us again and told us they would fine us because we didn’t obey their order to go home or continue solely. Even though, I explained my urgency that I needed talk to the pharmacist, the police didn’t have sympathy for it. And they would have fined us if not the only female officer said she would let us go if we would go straight to the pharmacy and return without any complications.  On our way back home, we got held up again by other police officers – one of them saw his colleagues warning us the first time. He declared he will mulct us now because we disobeyed what they instructed in the first place. After all, we both got fined without any chance of further discussion.

Yes, there have to be certain measures in order to keep order and prevent further spread of the virus. Yet, in urgent situations when it is no harm given to others and it is the only logical way to act, I don’t have sympathy with such strictness punishing people unjustly that are certainly not part of this problem.

About the author: Franziska Riedmaier studied North American Studies at the University of Munich and is currently living in Barcelona, Spain in order to study Spanish as well as take additional courses in Arabic language and its culture.  She is very interested in researches on peace and conflict as well as global sustainability.

UK

‘A fight we never picked, against an enemy we still don’t entirely understand,’

These were the words the prime minister used to describe the threat facing the UK and the world, mere hours after he was discharged from hospital after coming close to death fighting that very same threat.

Coronavirus has affected everywhere in the world in different ways, and each government has deployed different policies to tackle the problem. Beyond ‘flattening the curve’, acquiring personal protective equipment, finding a cure or preventing economic collapse, part of the official response to the crisis has been to foster a sense of national morale.

Every Thursday at 8 in the evening, Britons across the country step outside and clap for the workers of the National Health Service. This communal ritual seeks to bind everyone together and thank the workers of an institution regarded as sacred in British politics.

In taking part in this ritual and paying tribute to ‘Jenny from New Zealand, Luis from Portugal’, Johnson is fostering a collective, national resilience not needed since the darkest days of the Second World War. Invoking that spirt and imagery could backfire; he and others used it for less noble purposes during the Brexit referendum.

But after many years of the UK picking fights with itself, Boris Johnson sees this new battle as one that can end the divides in this country; a sickness that can heal. Whether wartime spirit can defeat both coronavirus and Brexit divisions remains to be seen’

About the author: Teddy Ashworth is an undergraduate studying Anthropology and International Relations at the University of Aberdeen.

Estonia acted swiftly to manage the outbreak. In light of the emergency situation declared in March , I continue to spend my days inside, as are many others. Whilst tedious, the restriction of movement provides me with a sense of safety. However, turning to the human rights situation across the world as this pandemic unfolds, it is clear that this is not the case for everyone.

Amongst several rights issues, Amnesty International points to housing, water and sanitation. Not having a roof over your head, or solely access to informal settlements complicates the guidelines individuals are to follow. Governments have to provide necessary means in order to ensure the protection of human rights, not least for marginalised members of society.

Moreover, UN Secretary General António Gutteres addresses the immense increase in domestic violence and calls for government action as part of states’ responses to the pandemic.

In the midst of COVID-19, severe human rights violations take place. If anything, we must care for, and stand up for each other.

About the author: Patrik Persson currently studies the master’s programme in International Relations and Regional Studies at the University of Tartu, Estonia. His specialisation is the European Union.

Morocco’s Response to Covid-19

Morocco’s response to Covid-19 began in early February, soon after it repatriated students from China. In fact, when the epidemic started to take its toll in Asia and Europe, officials displayed a calm and comforting attitude in their public appearances, assuring that the north African nation will not experience a similar tragedy. The officials repeatedly turned to the reassurance rhetoric to quieten the citizens, albeit the report of the first case on March 2.

Yet, the public panic sparked regardless, and many citizens showed concern and scepticism towards the government’s capability to cope with the crisis due to its deficient public health system and regional disparities. The non-urban areas are disadvantaged when it comes to access to public facilities. Given this situation, Morocco had plausible reasons to take draconian and swift measures despite the serious economic consequence that they represent.

As the number of cases began to increase, Morocco cancelled all sorts of gatherings, closed maritime and air borders, mosques, schools, and restaurants, except supermarkets and grocery shops. On March 20 the authorities implemented a health state of emergency and a one-month curfew. This decision evoked the enforcement of restrictive measures and prosecution against the violators. At the time, the country created a $1 billion fund to upgrade the health infrastructure and support the potentially affected sectors.

Morocco has not historically prioritised the public health sector. Yet, it is seemingly now aware of how indispensable it is. The public opinion calls for reform after the crisis.

About the author: Youssef Igrouane is a researcher at Coop4Med, a think tank based in Madrid. He holds of a master’s degree in European Interdisciplinary Studies from the College of Europe in Poland-Belgium.

Corona Virus in India: Dividing A Nation Already Divided

With over 5000 confirmed cases, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on a notice of 4 hours, called for a 21 day lockdown starting on the 25th of March. While the country’s privileged upper class spends lockdown pursuing hobbies and bingeing TV, the plight of the lower class majority stands in stark contrast.

The informal sector that represents 90% of India’s total workforce has no means of income, forcing workers to return back to their native villages hundreds of kilometres away. During this journey, these migrants had to randomly undergo disinfection, while Indians returning from abroad were only asked to self-quarantine, thus highlighting the inequality in treatment of classes.

Social distancing is a luxury in densely populated India, especially in Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, which already reported 13 cases. This raises fears as slum dwellers lack the option of space and being in lockdown seems like a death trap.

Another aspect is the religious politicization of the virus, as it has worsened the perpetual Hindu-Muslim divide. After a two day convention in Delhi of Tableeghi Jamaat, which led to clusters of the virus spreading throughout India, sentiments against Muslims on social media increased.

The solution by Modi’s government has included lighting candles, banging vessels for appreciation, and appealing to businesses to continue paying their employees. However, his speeches are seen as a distraction tactic rather than a tangible solution to an ever-dividing and suffering India.

About the author: Rafia Alam is a masters student at University of Tartu (Tartu, Estonia). She is studying International Relations and Regional Studies, and is from Kolkata, India.

A few days before Cuba confirmed its first three cases of the new coronavirus, the government’s actions to prepare for this epidemic were already facing some criticism by civil society and private businesses. The delay in closing international points of entry and recommending social distancing measures, added to the public’s concerns about the ability of Cuba to handle a potential health crisis.

An aging population with a broad presence of preexisting conditions, the shortages of medicine in recent months and a lack of trust in the government’s official messages have conditioned the doubtful reaction within the island.

However, medical diplomacy became the official Cuban response at the international level. Cuba has extended medical assistance to 14 countries, including Italy, as a direct response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Interferon Alpha 2B, a medication used to boost the immune system, developed and manufactured locally, has been praised by the WHO and it’s been effectively used in China and other affected nations. Cuban authorities cooperated with the British government to secure the safe evacuation of a cruise ship with some confirmed cases of Covid-19, after it was denied entry to many ports in the region.

The new coronavirus has produced a mixed effect in Cuba: an initially slow domestic response versus a strong international presence. A battle between concerns to the possible damages of an already crumbling economy and the relevance of health care as an important foreign policy tool and an essential part of nation branding for Cuba.

About the author: Bryan Chester Campbell Romero holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Havana, Cuba. He’s particularly interested in the study and politics of existential risks and the increasingly important role of cities in the global governance landscape. 

Germany: A Corona Diary

Day 1 at home: I decide to go shopping, because people are speculating that the shops could close at any time. While I stand in line and realise how long 2 meters are, an old lady places herself right in front of me. “I survived a war”, she says and buys medical tea against coughing. I am afraid.

Day 2: Shopping is not an option anymore. All stores, except of supermarkets and drug stores have to close.

Day 5: Oh, there she is: Angela Merkel on national TV. “Hard times”, she says and I agree. She does not declare a curfew. Could I be chancellor?

Day 6: Bavaria and some other German federal states impose curfews or contact limitations. In times of a pandemic federalism is confusing.

Day 11: Many German politicians come together. After the meeting, social contacts with more than two people are strictly forbidden due to contact limitations. Finally, we have one strict rule for the whole of Germany. Oh wait, some federal states have other, even stronger, regulations.

Day 13: One of my friends is coughing. She wants to get tested considering she is working in a hospital. “Have you been in a region at risk? Have you been in contact with an infected person?”, the doctor asks. She has not and therefore will not be tested. I feel like the pandemic could be much more under control if more people would be tested. The dark figure must be huge. Many experts share my concerns. Could I be chancellor?

Day 14: After doing nothing all day I start my well-deserved evening in front of the TV and I am shocked: First politicians worldwide are calling for the revival of the economy. The discussion is about whether we should safe the people or the economy. We need both. What a tough decision. I couldn’t be chancellor.

About the author: After experiencing the world climate conference 2017 in Bonn as a member of a youth project, Laureen decided the international stage is calling for her. Since October 2019 she studies International Relations and Communication Science in Erfurt.

Philippines:

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the democratic space in the Philippines has already withered. The election of Duterte has impugned the core values and pillars that the Philippine society was erected on, and this has become more palpable as the country faces new challenges brought by this novel pathogen.

COVID-19 has become an apparatus for the government to suppress human rights under the guise of ‘emergency power’. Duterte, for instance, instructed security forces to shoot dead people who are not following quarantine orders. This has empowered the police force to abuse their power in various ways, including confining people to dog cages and coffins. Criticisms raised by Filipinos online about the negligence of the administration amidst the pandemic have been met with harassment. If they are not red-tagged as leftists, they are brushed off as fake news propagators. One example was the case of a campus journalist who was pressured to publicly apologise after officials in his hometown threatened to file a libel case against him over a Facebook post condemning the government’s response to the crisis.

The situation in the Philippines confirms that the hazards brought by this contagious disease are not only measured by how many individuals can one person infect (R-naught) or how good a person’s immune system is. It all boils down to good governance and rule of law. Filipinos should stand up against structural forces in the society that cheapen human rights, favour the elites and stifle political freedom. Let us not feed the monsters who are hungry for power

Abouth the author: Jean Dinco is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne. Her current research is focused on natural language analysis of the Rohingya conflict in Myanmar. Jean tweets at imajeaned.

Italy:

Italy, the first western country hit by the Coronavirus. It felt like the start of a war against an invisible enemy: hospitals collapsing, an ever-increasing number of deaths, lock-downs and the uncertainty about the future.

On the one hand, there is fear, sadness and frustration. Those are the feelings that many of us developed. Fear to lose someone we love or to not be able to bring home the bacon for our children. Sadness and frustration because we suddenly experienced the bitter taste of discrimination. Everyone of us could be a threat to other people. We Italians were the first ones in Europe that seemed to not be able to control the situation – the classical Italians never able to respect the rules. We were frustrated by seeing our country collapse and by the low solidarity from the EU.

On the other hand, I see a country united as never before, with a strong cohesion within the institutions. But the main strength is seen among the people: A country singing ‘Fratelli d’Italia’ from the windows every day at 6PM. People helping each other. North and South united, working together to restart. We became those Fratelli d’Italia that we are singing about every day. We received international aid from the rest of the world. We experienced humanity and solidarity, something we will not forget.

If we learn something from this experience it is that nobody can run alone. We do not know when we will be able to run again, but when the time comes it will be different and stronger. We will run faster, together.

Abouth the author: Sofia Zecchini / Nationality: Italian / Country of residence: Italy (currently in Poland as Erasmus student) / Age 23