When should the United States use hard-hitting sectoral and financial sanctions?

By Erica Moret – On 18 October 2021, the US Treasury Department released its sanctions review, concluding sanctions remain an important policy tool but face important challenges. As part of ongoing feedback supplied by Dr. Erica Moret to the US Government on the topic, this article outlines concrete recommendations about how and when US sanctions should be used.

Proactive Governance and Citizen Engagement

By Nilanjan Raghunath – Social inequalities exacerbated by job losses due to automation and the pandemic can be mitigated by seeking collaborative and inclusive work policies.  This requires proactive governance, a model which includes multiple players providing feedback to create opportunities such as upskilling for people of all ages.  One such example is Singapore, where tripartite consensus plays a significant role in job creation and skills evolution.  Each country should create its own inclusive model.

Why more inclusive measures are needed to address COVID-19?

By Michèle Audrée Ndedi Batchandji – COVID-19 widens inequalities even within specific sectors, like in Education. Fragile countries, and their most vulnerable populations in particular, have seen their situation deteriorate. Country and context specific solutions to the pandemic should therefore be adopted.

Capitalism, COVID-19… and then?

By Pablo Martín Méndez – Is the COVID-19 crisis the end of free market capitalism? To answer this question, we don’t necessarily have to look to the future. On the contrary, we could explore the history of the free market ideas.

The Regime for Restructuring Businesses in the UAE: A Legal and Cultural Change

By Bashar Malkawi – The impact of COVID-19 on businesses emphasizes the need for insolvency systems that incorporate friendly rules for debtors and creditors not only in the short-term but also in the long-term.

Can states be sued for spreading misinformation about COVID-19?

By Esraa Adnan Fangary – The COVID-19 crisis has underscored the importance of the notification imperative. I demonstrate the legal consequences of its infringement and explore the possible role of the ICJ to ensure the enforcement of that obligation.

COVID-19 and supply chain relationships: inclusive governance reform or break-up ahead?

By Janelle M. Diller – The threats to human and worker rights accompanying the global coronavirus pandemic reinforce the need to prioritize inclusive sector-wide dialogue and action among governments, business, workers and civil society in global value chains, aided by international standards and organizations.

How COVID-19 challenges our notions of freedom

By Osvaldo Javier López Ruiz  – Is our conception of “liberty” in the 21st century the same as that for the “moderns” of the 19th century? The coronavirus pandemic challenges our views and the idea (or ideal) of a universal concept of freedom that can be applied globally.

Depoliticising through Expertise: The Politics of Modelling in the Governance of Covid-19

By Annabelle Littoz-Monnet – Epidemiological models have played a decisive role from the outset in determining the public policy response to Covid-19, especially in the imposition of quarantines and lockdowns. This emphasis on epidemiology, however, may have resulted in the silencing of alternative voices – from philosophers and anthropologists to general practitioners – and the possibility of alternative solutions for managing the public health emergency.

COVID-19, the WHO, and the failures of global governance

By Dhruv Sharma & Kit De Vriese – This piece discusses the ever-rising obstacles to global governance in the context of the reactions to the coronavirus pandemic by the WHO, the international community, and particularly the US, and identifies the potential ways forward.

COVID-19: An assessment of the WHO’s response

By Dhruv Sharma & Kit De Vriese – This post assesses the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic and identifies three major limitations that precluded a more effective organizational response.