World Justice Project: ‘Rule of Law Index 2021 Global Launch’ - 14 October 2021, 10.00 (EDT)

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The global COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and reinforced longstanding structural inequalities and governance weaknesses. Join us to explore the rule of law dimensions of the pandemic at the launch of the 2021 World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index®, the world’s leading source for original rule of law data. The 2021 Index is the first in this annual series to capture rule of law changes during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Since 2009, WJP has documented rule of law trends in its annual WJP Rule of Law Index®, expanded this year to cover 139 countries and jurisdictions. The Index relies on survey responses gathered from more than 138,000 households and 4,200 experts to measure how the rule of law is experienced and perceived in practical, everyday situations. The Index covers such rule of law factors as constraints on government power, fundamental rights, corruption, discrimination, security, and the functioning of regulatory, criminal, and civil justice systems. This quantitative tool provides citizens, governments, policymakers, donors, businesses, media, academics, and civil society organizations around the world with a comprehensive comparative analysis of countries’ adherence to universal rule of law principles.

OSCE: ‘8th Annual South East Europe Media Conference - Journalism in times of crisis’ - 11-12 October 2021

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The media have always been a crucial pillar of democracies, but informing the public on issues that matter to their lives and holding those in power to account is even more important in the context of crises such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, fulfilling their important role in society has become increasingly difficult and dangerous for journalists, as they face growing challenges, amidst a rising tide of mistrust and safety risks.

This year’s South East Europe Media Conference (SEEMC) "Journalism in times of crisis", organized in co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania, serves as a call to affirm the importance of journalism as an essential public good and pillar of democratic societies. It aims to foster regional co-operation to address media freedom challenges by exploring opportunities for furthering the media environment in the region, within the context of the present health crisis.

Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand: ‘From battlefield Din Daeng to student protests and car mobs – what’s next for Thailand’s protests?’ - 6 October 2021, 18.00 (Bangkok time)

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In the past two months, Thailand’s anti-government movement has seen many transformations with diverse groups pursuing different paths as public anger continues to simmer over the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conventional street protests with occasional “car mobs”, mostly organised by anti-government youth groups that first emerged in the second half of last year, have since late July also been attracting veteran Red Shirt activists.

However, some of the wind went out of the protest sales in mid-September after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha survived a no-confidence vote in parliament. That diminished the prospect that the former army chief, who first seized power with a coup in 2014, will not see out his four-year term that is due to run until 2023.

The most resolute group of protesters in recent months has come out in hundreds every day at the Din Daeng intersection in north-central Bangkok. They have used firecrackers and slingshots to taunt riot police, who on occasion have returned fire with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons. Many of the young people involved come from slums and poor housing estates in the capital. They have lost income during the pandemic, and in many cases are using the clashes to vent frustrations.

Does Din Daeng have any significance in a wider context? Could similar demonstrations erupt in other parts of the capital? How widely are they supported, and what is the likely end game for the protesters and the authorities?

Sydney South East Asia Centre: ‘Malaysia's back to the future: The pandemic crisis, a new prime minister from UMNO, and a repudiation of the historic 2018 elections?’ - 16 September 2021, 12.00 (AEST)

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Malaysia's unprecedented third change of government in the space of less than three years has clouded the nation's future amid an untamed pandemic. Is today's turmoil a painful transition to democracy, or is it a return to the authoritarianism and Malay supremacist politics stalled in 2018? As Malaysia fights to contain the soaring human toll of the pandemic, and works to revive a blighted economy, is Malaysia a unique case in the region or just part of the region's receding from democracy and economic progress? Join our panel of experts to discuss these pressing questions and what they imply for Malaysia's near future.

This event is co-hosted with the Malaysia and Singapore Society of Australia (MASSA).

Affinity Intercultural Foundation: ‘World Democracy Day: Democracy in Decline?’ - 15 September 2021, 19.00-20.00 (AEST)

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Today, many liberal democracies appear divided and consumed by internal and external challenges. The covid-19 pandemic has put unprecedented pressure on democracies, in particular the balancing of freedom and security for their citizens. At the same time, anti-democratic authoritarian powers are advancing their interests around the world. Countries that were once on track to being strong democracies are backsliding. In this webinar, our distinguished speakers will discuss whether democracy is in decline or not? What are the challenges for Australia, and what can we do to ensure our democracy remains healthy?

Speakers:

Anne Aly - Member for Cowan, former Professor at Edith Cowan University

Lydia Khalil - Research Fellow, West Asia Program, Lowy Institute

Julian Droogan - Senior Lecturer, Department of Security Studies and Criminology, Macquarie University

German Marshall Fund: ‘How to Boost Local Democratic Resilience in Central and Eastern Europe?’ - 15 September 2021, 14.30-16.00 (EST)

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Cities have been at the forefront during the coronavirus pandemic in terms of capabilities and vulnerabilities. While Central and Eastern Europe provides numerous benchmark examples of how local governments, civil society, and private companies have worked together to tackle the crisis, it also shows how national governments have taken advantage of the situation by re-centralizing attributions and resources. It is therefore more important than ever before that cities in the region have proper institutional and economic instruments as an integral part of rule of law and democratic accountability.

How could better cooperation between cities and local civil society strengthen democratic resilience in Central and Eastern Europe? How could cities’ improving fiscal sustainability and autonomy contribute to democratic accountability? And what opportunities for capacity building are harboured in international city networks and other policy learning instruments for the cities of Central and Eastern Europe?

The German Marshall Fund of the United States is pleased to invite you to the presentation and discussion of a new policy paper that examines the above key questions. This event is part of the ReThink.CEE Fellowship, which was established by the German Marshall Fund of the United States in 2018.

Inter-Parliamentary Union: ‘Is democracy really in crisis?’ - 15 September 2021, 16.00-17.30 (CEST) / 10.00-11.30 (ET)

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With a rising number of authoritarian and repressive regimes, attacks on parliaments and electoral dissatisfaction with traditional political parties and processes around the world, it seems that democracy has never been more fragile.

But is it really in crisis? Can democracy rebound and still deliver for the people? How can parliaments and parliamentarians better connect with the people they are supposed to represent? Or do we need new forms of democracy that are more open and participative?

To answers these questions and many more, the IPU has put together a virtual panel of pre-eminent thinkers on democracy for 90 minutes of discussion and debate.

Faculty of Culture & Society (Malmö University): Conference - ‘PANDEMOCRACY: Conviviality and everyday politics in times of crisis’ - 15-16 September 2021

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Hosted by the Rethinking Democracy (REDEM) research platform at the Faculty of Culture & Society, Malmö University, this conference explores the challenge and opportunities the pandemic creates for democracy, with a special focus on everyday democratic engagement, conviviality, local politics, activism and communication for social change. We ask contributors to consider their proposal in terms of both the potential challenges and opportunities facing democracy in the coming years.

European Partnership for Democracy: 2021 Democracy Week - ‘Stronger Together: Partnerships for supporting democracy’ - 15-17 September 2021

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The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on our lives with far-reaching consequences for democratic space and pluralism, social and economic equality, and geopolitical balances. At a time of crisis, it is more important than ever to protect and promote democracy.

The new US administration and the EU’s renewed commitment to multilateralism hint at a renewed global momentum to safeguard global security, democracy and stability. As President Biden stated during his appearance at the European Council in March, the US is determined to ‘re-energize our cooperation. And deepen this historic bond’. That is why we are proud to organise International Democracy Day as a week of events from 15-17 September, on the theme ‘Stronger Together: Partnerships for supporting democracy’.

With a focus on the renewed global democracy agenda, the 2021 Democracy Week will feature an exciting line-up of international speakers from across the democracy spectrum who will speak of their experiences of democracy partnerships, from inter-state cooperation, transnational and trans-sectoral partnerships to local initiatives.

Asia Centre: 6th International Conference - ‘COVID-19 in Asia: Communication, Nationalism and Technology’ - 8-10 September 2021

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COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic in March 2020, following the first infections detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Since then, governments have introduced emergency and temporary laws, placed their citizens and residents within their jurisdictions under lockdowns, implemented stay-at-home orders, enforced social distancing and closed their borders. The COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to interrupting global and national economic activities and halting cross-border movements, has exposed the weakness of global health monitoring systems and put pressure on national public health infrastructures.

In this environment, the difficulties in tackling disinformation and misinformation – including about the virus and responses to it –  have been compounded by the inordinate amount of online communication. Contact tracing, digital identification technology and surveillance have led to concerns about privacy. The pandemic has also generated inward-looking nationalism as countries, including big powers, increasingly look within for independent sustainability.  ‘Vaccine nationalism’ has reared its ugly head as countries race to demonstrate their technological prowess by being the first to develop one, to manage the resulting intellectual property rights and to acquire enough stocks for their own populations.

As the COVID-19 pandemic lives on into 2021 and beyond, it is important to understand its impacts – economic, political, social – upon national and international society. In particular, if the pandemic has contributed to accelerating us towards the 5th industrial revolution and its likely impact on politics and society. This conference, taking place one year after the start of the pandemic, seeks to identify these impacts and to search for practical solutions to challenges, which include shrinking democratic space and regression in rights in Asia.

The impact of the pandemic on the following areas will be examined:

• Online disinformation, fake news and hate speech during the pandemic;

• Contact tracing, digital identity recognition, surveillance and privacy;

• Digital, health and media literacy;

• Nationalism, multilateral collaboration and geopolitical shifts;

• Impact on democracy and rights;

• Digital platforms, remote communications, online services; 

• AI, data analytics, machine learning;

• Any other relevant themes

Asia Centre: ‘COVID-19 and SDGs: Internet Freedoms in Southeast Asia’ - 20 August 2021, 14.00-15.30 (BMT)

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On 20 August 2021, Asia Centre will release a baseline study, COVID-19 and SDGs: Internet Freedoms in Southeast Asia, that evaluates the progress made towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 9.C (Access and Affordability of Internet) and SDG 16.10 (Fundamental Freedoms and Access to Information) and its impact on internet freedoms. The study analyses how the pandemic has exerted a debilitating effect onto the development of internet infrastructure, fundamental freedoms and access to information. Recommendations, in strengthening the framework and commitment towards the SDGs, are outlined in the baseline study. Research for the study was undertaken (15 January to 30 July 2021), and covers the period from March 2020 to June 2021 of the situation in the 10 Southeast Asian countries encompassing Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It examines the existing laws, new bills and emergency decrees and temporary laws.

This report is a joint project with Thai Media Fund and the launch event is jointly organised with the Regional Human Rights Centre of Ubon Ratchathani University, Empower Freedom Defenders in East and Southeast Asia (EFDEA) and the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD).

International IDEA: ‘Impact of the Pandemic on Measuring Progress of SDG16+: Looking Forward, Tackling Obstacles’ - 12 July 2021, 7.30-9.00 (EST)

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The Covid-19 pandemic has presented significant challenges to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, jeopardizing the global ability to achieve all 17 goals by 2030. This becomes evident with increased levels of inequalities, limitations in State capacity, erosion of democratic institutions, constraints in the access to justice and protection of human rights, increased conflicts based on exacerbates social, political and economic weaknesses all over the world, among other concerning effects that continue to impact us on a daily basis. In addition to this, limitations in the capacity to collect data (official and unofficial) and access to information has presented complications to accurately measure progress and have a clear idea of where we stand and what is needed to continue moving forward.

This event seeks to enable a conversation to discuss evidence-base findings and propose forward looking recommendation to recover from the pandemic, enhancing methodologies for measuring progress, the availability of data, and the effects on the quality of institutions. The conversation will highlight the importance of data collection from official and unofficial sources to achieve SDG 16+ in the post-pandemic world, as well as the need to overcome limitations in the access to information.

Moderator:

Massimo Tommasoli, Director of Global Programme and Permanent Observer for International IDEA to the United Nations; Coordinator of the SDG16 Data Initiative

Discussion Panel:

• Sarah Chamness Long, Director, Access to Justice Research, World Justice Project (WJP)

• Haakon Gjerløw, Senior Researcher, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)

• Toby Mendel, Executive Director, Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD)

• Ivana Bjelic Vucinic, Projects Manager, ‎Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD)

• Miguel Angel Lara Otaola, Senior Democracy Assessment Specialist, International IDEA

• Anne-Séverine Fabre, Data Expert, Small Arms Survey

Wilson Center Africa Program - SVNP Annual Conference: ‘The Political Economy of Democracy and Peacebuilding in Africa in the COVID-19 Era’ - 19-23 July 2021

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As in other parts of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on Africa, not only in the realm of health, but in the areas of peace, security, democracy, economy, and international relations. The Wilson Center Africa Program will host the 2021 Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding (SVNP) Virtual Annual Conference, “The Political Economy of Democracy and Peacebuilding in Africa in the COVID-19 Era,” from July 19-23, 2021.

This conference will assess the impact of COVID-19 on democracy and peacebuilding in Africa, examine the crosscutting roles of gender, youth, technology, non-state actors, and international stakeholders on these issues, identify some of the challenges posed and opportunities created by the pandemic, and explore the way forward for U.S.-Africa relations in the COVID-19 era. The conference will also discuss best practices, concrete recommendations, and policy options for addressing challenges and strengthening democracy and peacebuilding in Africa. The conference will feature a series of events that will include African and U.S. policymakers, practitioners, international stakeholders, and experts, and African heads of organizations and senior leaders from the SVNP.

Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (European University Institute) - Workshop: ‘Testing Europe’s resilience in the Covid-19 crisis’ - 5-6 July 2021

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The Covid-19 crisis has challenged politics in Europe at all levels of government. The crisis has led to unseen pressures on political decision-makers, democratic institutions and policy-making in the EU and its member states.

The workshop is the second workshop of the EU and Covid-19 research cluster of the European Governance and Politics Programme at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Projects investigate aspects of the support side, the institutional capacities and the policy-output of different decision-making arenas in the EU in the crisis.

Contributions to the workshop focus in particular on the first wave of the crisis from March to July 2020. The period was the phase of acute crisis characterized by an extraordinary challenge to well-known scripts, values and objectives for policy-making in Europe.

The workshop will assess which input, throughput and output logics of political decision-making in Europe have been uncovered in the course of the first months of the pandemic. Papers will ask if the EU’s democratic institutions and values have been resilient or eroded during the Covid-19 crisis, if we can discern particular patterns of policy-making and if the pandemic was an occasion for change in democratic practices.

OBCT & Regional Cooperation Council - Conference: ‘Spread of disinformation during the pandemic and its impact on the Western Balkan’ - 8 July 2021, 10.00-15.00 (CET)

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The main expected output of the "Disinformation Conference" will seek to explain the impact of disinformation narratives in the Western Balkans especially after the COVID-19 outbreak, to identify challenges for economies of the Western Balkans caused by the infodemic, the role of all relevant stakeholders in establishing a clear division between disinformation and facts and differentiating between credible media sources, and how to prevent the societal polarization/distortion caused by disinformation.

The conference will bring together over 100 professionals, including representatives from the regulatory authorities, key experts, academics, journalists, researchers, and practitioners in the region and beyond.

The webinar will consist of the following panels: - How do the governments from the WB economies address challenges of disinformation during the pandemic? - How do the media and civic actors from the WB economies address challenges of disinformation during the pandemic? - The impact of disinformation on democratic processes and building societal resilience against the threat of disinformation.

Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies (University of Melbourne): ‘Constitutional Law Conference 2021’ - 23 July 2021, 9.00-17.30 (AEST)

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Registrations close Monday 19 July 2021. Early Bird registration closes Friday 25 June 2021.

The Conference will commence with a keynote address by the Hon. Justice Michelle Gordon AC, who will consider the themes and legacy of Australian Communist Party v Commonwealth (1951). Confirmed speakers include the Hon. Justice Andrew Bell (President, NSW Court of Appeal), Hon. Justice Melinda Richards (Supreme Court of Victoria), Dr Ruth Higgins SC (Banco Chambers), Timothy Goodwin (List A Barristers), Laureate Professor Emeritus Cheryl Saunders AO (Melbourne), Professor Rosalind Dixon (UNSW), Professor Kristen Rundle (Melbourne), and Professor Jason Varuhas (Melbourne).

These speakers will address two key themes. The first theme is the rule of law. Speakers will consider its place in the High Court's constitutional case law, Indigenous perspectives on the rule of law following Love v Commonwealth, and comparative lessons. The second theme is government, courts and the law after COVID-19. Speakers will consider legal issues arising from hotel quarantine, legal regulation of the use of soft law, emergency powers, and the use of technology in court proceedings.

A final panel will mark the career of the Hon. Justice Geoffrey Nettle AC with a panel featuring the Hon. Justice Kenneth Hayne AC (formerly High Court of Australia), Julian Murphy (Melbourne), Julia Wang (Dever's List) and Dr Scott Stephenson (Melbourne).

Chatham House: ‘Vaccine diplomacy at a time of extreme rivalries?’ - 30 June 2021, 12.00-13.00 (BST)

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This event is for Chatham House members only.

While the global coronavirus pandemic is killing millions, decimating economies and rapidly increasing poverty, relations between major powers are deteriorating. Despite global rhetoric for international cooperation, many countries saw the pandemic as an opportunity for nationalist point-scoring and repatriated their assets. Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), has likened the situation to ‘vaccine apartheid’ while experts have warned that COVID-19 is only a test for what is to come: further global health crises and the impending climate emergency.

In this event, Chatham House experts discuss the geo-strategic rivalries between democracies and authoritarian states. In an era of extreme competition, bordering confrontation, what can be done to harness cooperation that all the main countries say is vital to manage the pandemic? How can the United States and China, for example, put their differences aside and focus on the global supply of vaccines? How will China and Russia capitalize on the deals they have brokered with states in the Global South in need of vaccines? And is Covax the ‘only truly global solution’ to equitably distribute vaccines around the world?

Inter-Parliamentary Union: ‘COVID-19 pandemic recovery through a human rights lens: What contribution from parliaments?’ - 29-30 June 2021

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the enjoyment of human rights and has accentuated structural inequalities and vulnerabilities in terms of access to education, health, housing, employment, and information among others. The response to the pandemic should therefore not only focus on halting the spread of the virus and on vaccinating the population. Recovery should also tackle the underlying factors of marginalization which, because they have been so negatively impacted by the pandemic, have worsened the situation of significant parts of society.

Parliaments play a key role in helping ensure that COVID-19 recovery includes the strengthening of state institutions and policies so that they truly serve everyone, starting with those most in need, and are fully grounded in existing human rights standards.

Against the backdrop of the global mobilization to defeat the pandemic and the different constraints that may exist in this regard at the national level, the IPU-OHCHR workshop aims at:

• Sharing best national practices in terms of legislation and other parliamentary activities to promote human rights while fighting the pandemic.

• Identifying appropriate measures, drawn from international human rights principles, to fight the pandemic.

• Exploring robust human rights-based strategies for post-COVID-19 recovery, including avenues to strengthen the contribution of parliaments to the work of the UN Human Rights Council through the implementations of its UPR recommendations.

Chatham House: ‘Geopolitical shifts and evolving social challenges – what role for human rights?’ - 29 June 2021, 15.00-16.30 (BST)

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Shifts in geopolitical power and the rise of authoritarianism are disrupting the dynamics for making progress on human rights globally. At the same time, the relevance of the global human rights framework is being called into question by some of our most acute social challenges – rapidly evolving technology, deepening inequality and the climate crisis.

Chatham House’s Human Rights Pathways Initiative is exploring how alliances, strategies and institutions are adapting, and will need to evolve, to strengthen human rights protection in this increasingly contested and complex global environment.

At this panel event speakers reflect on some of the key themes that will influence the future of human rights, including the long-term impacts of the pandemic, the place of human rights diplomacy in the new geopolitics, the relevance of human rights to social movements, and the potential of human rights law to galvanise efforts on urgent challenges such as the climate crisis.

Chatham House: ‘Brazil in the age of Bolsonaro’ - 28 June 2021, 16.00-17.00 (BST)

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Whether over matters of COVID-19 infection rates, environmental concerns, or political polarization, Brazil has become a focus in the news of late.

• What explains the seeming political and policy upheaval in a country that a short decade ago was hailed as rising global power?

• What are the implications for the 2022 presidential elections and Brazil’s economic growth?