This section provides a selection of videos focused on the impact of COVID-19 on democracies worldwide.

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International Women's Day: Years of work undone by Covid-19 pandemic

8 March 2021: Today is International Women's Day, a day that is celebrated on the 8th March every year and it is a day that is very much the focal point in the movement for women's rights. The theme this year is "Choose to Challenge", which organisers say is aimed at challenging gender bias and inequality everywhere whether it be in government, in the workplace, in sports, in healthcare to name but a few fields.

But with the world ravaged by a pandemic, the past 12 months have been like no other in modern history so what has COVID-19 meant for the women's rights movement? Has progress been reversed? And has the crisis created any new opportunities?

AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION: Balancing Human Rights During COVID19

1 December 2020: Protecting public health and protecting human rights are not mutually exclusive choices – but how do we keep the balance between the two? What safeguards do we need to protect rights and freedoms in Australia and prevent the ‘creeping authoritarianism’ we have witnessed elsewhere in the world?

These were just some of the big questions of our time discussed by the panellists during the ‘Balancing Human Rights During COVID19’ RightsTalk, which the Australian Human Rights Commission presented in partnership with Lexis Nexis. As Commission President Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM noted in her opening address for the event, “Human rights has entered conversation this year on a level that is perhaps unprecedented since the Second World War.”

Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow moderated the discussion, which included panellists Professor Robynne Quiggin (Associate Dean (Indigenous Leadership and Engagement at UTS), Professor Sarah Joseph (Professor of Human Rights Law at Griffith Uni), Hugh de Kretser (Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Centre) and Professor Michael Kidd (Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer).



KNIGHT FOUNDATION: THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY SERIES

A weekly conversation about the trends, ideas and disruptions changing the face of our democracy hosted by Sam Gill, SVP/Chief Program Officer, Knight Foundation.

22 October 2020 Episode 25: Tech and Democracy in 2020

How are tech platforms influencing our democracy? What are we learning from the pandemic and politics, and what can be expected post-election for tech companies and policymakers? On Episode 25 of “The Future of Democracy,” we’ll talk with sociologist, computer programer and author Zeynep Tufekci,  whose trenchant, original perspectives on issues ranging from mask-wearing during the pandemic to the real-world impact of social media algorithms has made her a leading voice on the intersection of technology and society.



INTERNATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION: WEBINAR ON GLOBAL PANDEMICS AND THE RULE OF LAW

2 October 2020: Presented by the IBA Foundation, co-sponsored by the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute and supported by the IBA Rule of Law Forum, this webinar is part of a series of non-partisan Town Hall conversations about the meaning, implications, benefits, and economic significance of the rule of law, and the principles it embodies.

A panel of distinguished speakers discussed, among other things, whether the international community needs a new legal framework and governance structures to avert another crippling pandemic, and whether a country's adherence to the rule of law minimises the chance that a viral outbreak will escalate into a pandemic in the first instance. Link here.



DEMOCRACY NOW! ‘Pandemic of Repression: Modi Government Crushes Dissent While Ignoring India’s 6 Million COVID Cases’

2 October 2020: As India becomes just the second country to hit 6 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, we speak to journalist Rana Ayyub in Mumbai, who was recently hospitalized after testing positive for the disease. India’s lead pandemic agency says an antibody study suggests more than 60 million people in the country have already been infected with the coronavirus — 10 times the official count but still a small fraction of its population of 1.3 billion. “It doesn’t feel like India is even talking about the pandemic,” says Ayyub, a global opinions writer for The Washington Post. “More than the fear of the pandemic, people in this country are fearing the massive unemployment and the fact that they are going without food.”


melbourne forum 2020 - ‘representation in democracies during emergencies’ - september 2020

3 September 2020: Ordinarily held in a different Asia-Pacific state each year, this year the fifth Melbourne Forum on Constitution Building in Asia and the Pacific will be held as a series of four online seminars in September 2020, hosted by the Constitution Transformation Network (Melbourne Law School) and by International IDEA. The topic of the 2020 Melbourne Forum is "Representation in Democracies During Emergencies". The webinars are:

The recordings of the webinar series are below:


#GLOBSEC2020 Digital Stage: Infodemic’s Disinformation Revenues as Million Dollar Business

26 August 2020: The Global Disinformation Index estimates that 25 million USD will unwittingly go to funding all kinds of COVID-19 conspiracies and disinformation disseminating outlets in 2020 alone, GLOBSEC reports (above). The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the extent of the problem as well as its potential to kill. How do we disrupt economies of disinformation and contribute to healthier information environment? How do we stop spread of disinformation, hate and polarization of our society for profit?


ifes: webinar series on administering elections in Europe during a pandemic

30 July 2020: ‘Exercising Your Voice Is Just a Click Away!’ Link here

Youth civic engagement is increasingly shifting online during the COVID-19 pandemic. To better understand the importance of young people’s participation in elections in Europe during crisis and how young people can address challenges around digital activism, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), in partnership with young leaders and experts, held a webinar on July 30, 2020, honoring International Youth Day on August 12. This was the third webinar held under IFES’ Administering Elections in Europe During a Pandemic webinar series. It featured simultaneous interpretation into Armenian, English, Georgian, Macedonian, Russian and South Slavic languages and drew 72 participants from 22 countries.

14 July 2020: ‘Weighing in on the Future of Internet Voting’. Link here

As the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many citizens to adopt social distancing practices and minimize exposure to publicly trafficked areas like polling places, the possibility of holding major electoral events using technologies like internet voting has garnered significant interest. However, critical questions remain: Is internet voting safe from cyberattacks? Will voters trust the results if internet voting is used on a mass scale? How can the results of elections using internet voting be audited?

25 June 2020: ‘Preserving Electoral Integrity During an Infodemic’. Link here.


Human Rights Court Dialogue

13 July 2020: Dialogue between the Three Human Rights Courts of the World: The impact of COVID-19 on Human Rights. Link here.

This is a discussion among judges of the world’s three regional human rights courts: the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights; the European Court of Human Rights; and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.


new Series: IDLO Crisis Governance Forum

3 July 2020: The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) has launched a series of multi-stakeholder dialogues for sharing insights, experiences and solutions among policymakers and practitioners at all levels involved in the COVID-19 crisis management.

The series launch of the IDLO Crisis Governance Forum featured senior policymakers and other stakeholders who shared lessons learned in policymaking related to COVID-19 and addressed the nexus between crisis governance and the rule of law - a critical link to provide legitimacy and enhance public trust in government. The panelists, hosted by IDLO Director-General Jan Beagle, were H.E. Emanuela Del Re, Italy's Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; H.E David Maraga, Kenya's Chief Justice; H.E. Rosa Seaman Sheran, Vice-Minister of the Secretariat for Human Rights, Honduras; Gerald Abila, founder Barefoot Law, Uganda; Justice Kathurima M'Inoti, Kenya; Mourad Wahba, Assistant Administrator a.i., UNDP; and Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy-Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, UNDESA.

A main focus of the speakers' interventions, and of the interactive dialogue that will follow, will be to illustrate concretely the relevance of the 2030 Agenda, and in particular SDG 16, as a roadmap for the policies and measures required to overcome the COVID-19 crisis and build more resilient and just societies in the future. Advancing the values and principles of the 2030 Agenda in the response and recovery effort will be a central objective of all sessions of the Forum.


new video series: germs and justice

18 June 2020 Has the Pandemic Killed the Free World?

Should police be able to shut down protest marches because of Covid-19? The Black Lives Matter protests tested the reach of public health directives and the right to protest prevailed. It’s just one of a number of freedoms challenged by emergency powers. So will these powers disappear with the virus or continue in one form or another? And will the response to Covid-19 reshape our federal system?


new video series: 'Constitutional Reflections on the Pandemic'

9 June 2020: The IACL-AIDC Blog has just launched a new Vlog Symposium publishing videos on the subject 'Constitutional Reflections on the Pandemic'. The full collection is here.

Adrienne STONE, Oran DOYLE, Chiara GRAZIANI & Juliano Z. BENVINDO, ‘Constitutional Reflections on the Pandemic: IACL RESEARCH GROUP’ (25 June 2020)

Eugenio Velasco IBARRA, ‘Constitutional Reflections on the Pandemic: Mexico’ (23 June 2020)

Pablo RIBERI, ‘Constitutional Reflections on the Pandemic: Argentina’ (23 June 2020)

Bal KAMA, ‘Constitutional Reflections on the Pandemic: Papua New Guinea’ (23 June 2020)

Anna CORNELL, ‘Constitutional Reflections on the Pandemic: Sweden’ (18 June 2020)

Jongcheol KIM, ‘Constitutional Reflections on the Pandemic: South Korea’ (18 June 2020)

Cheryl SAUNDERS, ‘Constitutional Reflections on the Pandemic: Australia’ (18 June 2020)

Michael YUSINGCO, ‘Constitutional Reflections on the Pandemic: The Philippines’ (16 June 2020)

Aziz IZMATOV, ‘Constitutional Reflections on the Pandemic: Uzbekistan’ (16 June 2020)

Sanaa ALSARGHALI, ‘Constitutional Reflections on the Pandemic: Palestine’ (11 June 2020)

Fola ADELEKE, ‘Constitutional Reflections on the Pandemic: Nigeria’ (9 June 2020)

Berihun ADUGNA, ‘Constitutional Reflections on the Pandemic: Ethiopia’ (9 June 2020)

Erika ARBAN & Dinesha SAMARARATNE, ‘Editorial: Constitutional Reflections on the Pandemic’ (9 June 2020)



new video: Virtual Town Hall on Nigerian Elections During COVID-19

10 June 2020: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria initially postponed several by-elections and local elections that had been scheduled for March 2020. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recently drafted a policy on conducting elections in the context of the pandemic and has been consulting stakeholders to gather feedback. Upon announcing the policy, the INEC also announced that governorship elections in two states will take place as scheduled later in 2020. Postponed by-elections for vacant Senate and House of Representative seats will also be rescheduled to take place in 2020. Yiaga Africa, a youth civil society organization and one of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems’ (IFES) local partners, organized a virtual town hall to facilitate public debate on the proposed policy. The town hall took place on June 3 and was broadcast live by Channels TV. Link here.


new video series: melbourne law school - ‘covid-19 and law’

This is a series of recordings of webinars organised by Melbourne Law School with conversations about how the law might be used to respond to the effects of Covid-19. Conversations on democracy-related topics include:

Human Rights in the time of Covid-19 (4 June 2020)

Privacy Post-Pandemic: Restart or Reset? (4 June 2020)

Constitutional Government during a Pandemic: an Australian perspective (3 June 2020)


new video series: #forum2000online

The organisation Forum 2000 has put together an excellent video series focused on the pandemic’s impact on democracy across the globe. See the full series here. A recent video on Latin America is featured here.

26 May 2020: Latin America is approaching half a million cases of infected and the worst is yet to come. All the elections planned for the second quarter were postponed to the second half of the year, including two presidential elections. We can also expect a dramatic drop in economy and increase of poverty, inequality and unemployment. Moreover, China is strengthening its position in the region, filling up the vacuum left by the Trump’s pullback, says Daniel Zovatto, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International IDEA, Argentina. Forum 2000 Foundation is online in times of pandemic. What will be the impact of COVID-19 on our society,democracy and economy? How are the governments handling the situation in different countries across the globe? Join the #Forum2000online Chat and listen to the interviews with experts, activists, academics and thinkers who are answering what we all want to know.


new video series: Political Agency after Covid-19

22 May 2020: The University of Iceland organised an online conference on ‘Political Agency after Covid-19’ on 15 May 2020 as the world is facing a pandemic that requires not only global effort but presents a trial of political leadership for governments around world. Each talk is around 40 minutes, including comments and discussion and they are listed here according to order they were presented at the conference, starting with Opening remarks by the Prime minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir. The full series is here. The first video is below.



FEATURED new video series: global responses to covid-19

This project, launched on 12 May 2020, is the result of a partnership between the New Zealand Centre for Public Law at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, the Center for International and Area Studies at Northwestern University and International IDEA.  The objective is to share information, provided by in-country scholars, on the constitutional/legal responses of governments around the world to the Covid-19 response in order to better learn how frameworks for emergency response function in a global pandemic; as well as to build a network of scholars to engage in comparative discussions at both the academic and international policy advocacy levels

This is a very fast moving area. If you would like to submit a video (either as an update to the ones below or of a country that we are yet to cover), please contact Sumit Bisarya at s.bisarya@idea.int.

The full series is here. COVID-DEM Director Tom Daly put on his ‘honorary Australian’ hat to deliver the country report for Australia, which you can see below.


NEW VIDEO: HOW CORONAVIRUS THREATENS DEMOCRACY

As the coronavirus continues its spread, governments around the world have taken to using emergency measures to combat it. But the use of emergency measures can actually make it more likely for democracies to backslide into autocratic systems.

Follow Professor Politics on: The Blog: www.awildpoliticalnerd.com/ Twitter: @wildpolinerd Instagram: https://instagram.com/politicalnerd/


new video: electoral regulation research network (errn)

"Elections in a Time of Contagion" by Professor Graeme Orr (20 April 2020)

new videos: melbourne law school

COVID-19: What is Australia's National Cabinet? (15 April 2020)

The Australian response to COVID-19 has focused more attention than usual on the workings of the federal system. It has also prompted some unusual developments. One is the establishment of a ‘National Cabinet’ consisting of the prime minister and the premiers and chief ministers of all the states and territories. Laureate Professor Emeritus Cheryl Saunders AO discusses the consequences of this development.


How does democracy function in a crisis like COVID-19? (14 April 2020)

Professor Adrienne Stone from Melbourne Law School gives her take on how Australia’s Parliament is no longer operating as normal and what that means practically.

Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) Faculty of Law (16 April 2020)

Curious about the legal implications of the lockdown? Do you want to know more on the New Zealand Government’s legal framework during this COVID-19 situation and what it means for us in the future? Watch our Law Faculty academics discuss the legal implications of the government’s response to COVID-19. • States of emergency and the Constitution by Professor Joel Colón-Ríos • The lockdown legal regime by Dr Dean Knight • The Criminal Justice System by Dr Nessa Lynch • Privacy by Dr Marcin Betkier • Keeping democracy amidst COVID-19 by Dr Eddie Clark