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Public Webinar Series on the Coronavirus

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What challenges and opportunities can you highlight for democratic resiliency in times of emergencies, like the COVID-19 pandemic? Join a webinar with the Secretaries-General from the Community of Democracies, International IDEA, and the Organization of American States, regarding responses to the current crisis , human rights and democracy resilience.

Recording here

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In follow-up to the succesful webinar on “Human Rights in the Times of Coronavirus” (a recorded version of which is available here), next week another webinar is taking place on the role the Council of Europe could play in the context of the Covid-19 crisis. The webinar takes place on Tuesday 21 April at 4 pm UK time, 5 pm CET. Here is the announcement:

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All recordings available here

On April 13-14, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) will host COVIDCon, a virtual Oslo Freedom Forum event focused on how tyranny sparked and is exploiting the novel coronavirus pandemic to crack down on civil liberties. This two-day event, open to global audiences, will feature presentations and panels about the current pandemic and its relationship to state censorship, disinformation, surveillance, and the future of civil liberties.

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Joan Donovan, Research Director of the Shorenstein Center, will host a conversation with Nancy Gibbs, Director of the Shorenstein Center and former Editor in Chief of TIME Magazine, Setti Warren, Executive Director of the Shorenstein Center and former Mayor of Newton MA, and Rob Faris, author of Network Propaganda and Senior Researcher at the Shorenstein Center.

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Virtual Program: COVID-19 and the Future of Democracy in Europe | Birol Yesilada via Zoom

(virtual) Portland, OR United States

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Would-be autocrats around the world are using the COVID-19 pandemic as cover for tightening their grip on power. And cracking down on journalism is the first order of business. From Eastern Europe to South Asia to Latin America and Africa, vast restrictions on the press are criminalizing independent reporting. At stake is the public’s right to know, and at a time when the stakes have never been higher.

In this session we’ll meet reporters on four continents who are experiencing this firsthand. Also joining us is Joel Simon, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, which is on the front lines of advocating for a free press.

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Speaker: Dan Kelemen (Professor of Political Science and Law, Jean Monnet Chair in European Politics, Rutgers University USA)

In recent years, the EU has tolerated backsliding on rule of law and democracy in Hungary, Poland and some other member states. Its responses have been, for the most part, feeble and ineffectual. In a recent article on the EU’s “authoritarian equilibrium” I explored how hybrid authoritarian regimes are able to thrive within the EU. In concluding, I noted that, “While EU membership may not assure that member states remain democracies, it will likely prevent them from becoming full-blown dictatorships.” However, recent developments in Hungary suggest this may have been an overly optimistic conclusion.

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Duncan Green introduces a recent paper on COVID-19 as a 'critical juncture' and an open webinar to discuss its ideas next week hosted by Global Policy.

My LSE students are a challenging lot (not as in ‘problem’, as in ‘challenging’) and their questions got me thinking about COVID-19 as a critical juncture. The result is a short-ish (12 page) paper (much improved by the students’ comments on earlier drafts) available here.

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https://zoom.us/j/335812961

The panellists will discuss whether England’s recent Health Protection laws are consistent with the European Convention on Human Rights, in the context of the wider discussion on the human rights dimensions of measures taken in response to the pandemic within the Council of Europe. A key question is whether the member states of the Council of Europe need to derogate from the Convention to implement these emergency measures. The webinar will particularly address the following questions:

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The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s office Israel is organizing an online panel discussion on „Populism in times of pandemics – a chance or danger for democracies? “on the 7th of April, 2020, 16.00 o’clock (CET!). We are bringing together experts from Germany (Dr. Viola Neu, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Berlin), Hungary (Dr. Petra Bárd, Central European University Budapest), Italy (Prof. Leonardo Morlino, LUISS "Guido Carli" University Rome), Israel (Dr. Amichai Magen, IDC Herzliya), and Poland (Dr. Marcin Zaborowksi, Lazarski University Warsaw) in order to obtain a broader picture of where the current situation might take different democracies.

The following link will allow our guests to watch and listen to the discussion as well as ask questions during the Q&A-session: https://idc-il.zoom.us/j/647346731.

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Discussant

The Honorable Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Former Senator from North Dakota from 2013-2019

Moderator

Chiara Rosselli, Head of the Mercator European Dialogue

In times of crises, the work of parliaments is essential. How are lawmakers carrying on their constitutional duties when it comes to significant decisions regarding trillions of dollars in stimulus spending? What are the challenges concerning the coordination of local and federal levels? For this Transatlantic Tuesday, GMF Berlin, and GMF Brussels will join forces to discuss the potential political implications of the varying approaches on both sides of the Atlantic. GMF Berlin's Chiara Rosselli, head of the Mercator European Dialogue, will moderate the conversation.

Access the full Zoom recording here

The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law would like to invite you to a virtual roundtable discussion of “The Global Coronavirus Emergency and the Rule of Law”

The webinar will take place from 1.30-3pm BST, and can be accessed via Zoom here: https://zoom.us/j/774536014