As leading authoritarian states exploit that Covid-19 pandemic to pursue a strategy of “co-option, coercion, and concealment,” as H.R. McMaster has summarized it, the old liberal order may rapidly give way to a new order that is distinctly illiberal, with the world reverting to its historical norms of chaos and conflict, Brian Stewart writes for the Bulwark.
The West’s post-Cold War triumphalism “was a mirage, and one to which a decadent society (on both sides of the Atlantic) was particularly prone,” he adds. “In the post-pandemic world, this utopian notion should be among the first that we dispense with. It turns out that there is no democratic destiny. This is just as well. There is no despotic destiny either.”
A mural from Sudan’s 2019 revolution depicts protesters and their use of graffiti to list their demands and the names of individuals who died during the protests (above – photo by Tiffany Lynch, NED Senior Program Officer for Africa.)
In the midst of the global Covid-19 crisis, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) continues its critical mission of supporting democracy and its advocates around the world. Read more.
Serbian investigative reporting outfit Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK) is debunking fake news regarding the virus, as well as covering the government’s response to the crisis, on its portal Raskrikavanje. KRIK’s journalists have also created a live blog to fact-check disinformation in real time. Read More.
Code for Pakistan (below) is leading the charge against coronavirus in Pakistan by assisting in the creation of a national dashboard to track active cases around the country. Read more
Code for Pakistan
The COVID crisis exposes systemic injustices that the global labor movement has long fought to change — informality in our economy, weak health care systems, lack of a social safety net, structural racism, gender discrimination and exploitative migration regimes, the Solidarity Center notes. Register today for an online discussion, co-sponsored by the International Trade Union Confederation and AFL-CIO.
Moderator
Cathy Feingold, AFL-CIO International Director, International Trade Union Confederation Deputy President
Speakers
- Chidi King, Director of Equality Department, International Trade Union Confederation
- Genevieve Gencianos, Migration Program Coordinator, Public Services International
- Hind Cherrouk, Middle East North Africa Regional Director, Solidarity Center
- Nazma Akter, President, Sommilito Garment Sramik Federation
- Maria Elena Sabillón, Solidarity Center, Honduras
May 1, 2020. 11:00 a.m. EDT. Register here.
