Interview: "Will COVID-19 Infect the World Order" Interview by Payman Yazdam (نظم آتی جهان وابسته به موفقیت چین یا آمریکا در مقابله با کروناست)

It was my great honor to have been interviewed by Payman Yazdani for the Mehr News Agency.  We spoke about COVID-19 and its potentially significant consequences for the world order. Mr. Yazdani nicely set out the context:

TEHRAN, Apr. 15 (MNA) –Professor Larry Backer in an interview with Mehr News Agency argues that the concept of COVID-19 may penetrate the world order like the virus attacks individuals. The current coronavirus pandemic ravaging every corner of the world and many states are desperate in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Nations and governments are panicking and the economy has already collapsed. This crisis is expected to deepen more and more without a serious global willingness and cooperation. Due to the great impact of the coronavirus on the world from different aspects, many believe that changes to existing world order and international relations are inevitable in the post-corona era. In an effort to make the dimension of the changes to the existing world order by coronavirus clearer, we reached out to Larry Cata Backer , Professor of Law and International Affairs at Penn State University. Here is the full text of his answers to our questions:

 My approach was centered on a view of change but not of a break.

"Thus, the effects of COVID-19 will not be revolutionary in the sense of abandoning old systems.  Rather it will accelerate tendencies already well observed.  It will also further refine a tendency toward differentiation (and choice) rather than toward convergence.  But again, these dominant ideologies invested the pandemic with a very specific signification—and an ancient one: it was a test (which could be rationalized in religious or secular “scientific” terms).  That test was meant to prove the value of the system tested.  But it was also meant to serve as a furnace within which the weakness of those systems might be burned away, leaving only the strong core from which the system could emerge changed and re-invigorated. But changed in ways that will hyper emphasize some of its organizing principles (described above) and scorch away the rest."

The interview has been published in English (Will COVID-19 infect the world order?) and  فارسی (Farsi) (نظم آتی جهان وابسته به موفقیت چین یا آمریکا در مقابله با کروناست) by the Mehr News Agency and will be published as well in the Tehran Times. My great thanks to Mr. Yazdani for the opportunity to share my thoughts and for his quite incisive questions.

 It may be accessed by clicking on the link above and is set out below.

Interview: Jonathan Kiwana on African Perspectives; Uganda and the Response to the COVID-19, for Upcoming Webinar "COVID-19 and International Affairs" (17 April 2020)

In the run up to the Webinar Conference Roundtable, Coronavirus and International Relations, a number of participants and contributors agreed to give short interviews around the conference themes and their own interventions. All Zoom interviews will be posted to the Coalition for Peace and Ethics You Tube Channel COVID-19 Conference Playlist. For our first interview, Flora Sapio spoke to the issues of COVID-19 in Italy and its wider implication. For our second interview, Larry Catá Backer spoke of COVID-19 and meaning making. Yuri Gonzalez was interviewed about COVID-19 and the developing situation in Cuba, which has been able to project medical assistance outward even as it faces the challenges of a developing state.  Alice Hong provided insight on COVID-19 from the perspective of a foreign student in the US. GAO Shan spoke to the way that the COVID-19 pandemic from a comparative context of Wuhan (where his family lives) and the US Midwest (where he now resides). And Keren Wang considered the ways in which each system framed the pandemic in ways that could be understood, noting how differences in those understandings could produce very different responses.

For our next interview, Jonathan Kiwana, a lawyer and constitutional scholar in Uganda (and a former student) speaks to the way that Uganda and neighboring states confronted COVID-19 and the pandemic. He spoke as well to the substantial differences in approach. He also considered the role of the African Union and IFIs, as well as the role of Multinational Enterprises in meeting the COVID-19 challenge. He ends with a reflection on the post pandemic future of international relations from an African perspective. 

Mr. Kiwana is a Senior Associate with Bowmans, a Corporate- Commercial, Top Tier, Pan-African law firm advising financial institutions, multi national companies and energy companies on commercial transactions in East Africa. I have: performed a securities review for three leading banks, advised on a dual listing on the Uganda Securities Exchange and the Nairobi Stock Exchange and advised an oil company on proposed off-shore operations. I have acted in the Supreme Court of Uganda for a former managing director of Uganda's largest pension fund accused of white collar crimes. For the last three years I have been invited to the African Leadership Forum hosted by former African presidents and have once addressed the general assembly. I am also passionate about matters of human rights, rule of law, good governance and constitutionalism and often write on these.

 

The interview may be accessed HERE:   Jonathan Kiwana interview

Conference Concept Note HERE

Registration (Free) HERE

Conference Website HERE.

Interview: Keren Wang on Comparing US and Chinese Responses to the Pandemic, for Upcoming Webinar "COVID-19 and International Affairs" (17 April 2020)

In the run up to the Webinar Conference Roundtable, Coronavirus and International Relations, a number of participants and contributors agreed to give short interviews around the conference themes and their own interventions. All Zoom interviews will be posted to the Coalition for Peace and Ethics You Tube Channel COVID-19 Conference Playlist. For our first interview, Flora Sapio spoke to the issues of COVID-19 in Italy and its wider implication. For our second interview, Larry Catá Backer spoke of COVID-19 and meaning making. Yuri Gonzalez was interviewed about COVID-19 and the developing situation in Cuba, which has been able to project medical assistance outward even as it faces the challenges of a developing state.  Alice Hong provided insight on COVID-19 from the perspective of a foreign student in the US. And GAO Shan spoke to the way that the COVID-19 pandemic from a comparative context of Wuhan (where his family lives) and the US Midwest (where he now resides).

For our next interview Keren Wang speaks to the issues of the way that the Pandemic was framed and experienced in the US and China. He considers the ways in which each system framed the pandemic in ways that could be understood. He noted how differences in those understandings could produce very different responses. Dr. Wang also considered the ways in which the official and popular discourse about the pandemic sometimes aligned and sometimes deviated in some substantial respects. The effects on both the internal organization of national responses, and on their international relations of states, have been both profound and to some extent quite different.

Dr. Wang is an Assistant Teaching Professor in Communication Arts and Sciences, Pennsylvania State University ( Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University (2018); M.A., The Pennsylvania State University (2013); B.A., Drexel University (2010)). He studies rhetorical theory, political communication, and history of ideas that shape globalization and its discontents. Publications include ​Legal and Rhetorical Foundations of Economic Globalization: An Atlas of Ritual Sacrifice in Late-Capitalism (​​1st ed​. ​Oxford: Routledge, 2019). To learn more about his research and teaching interests please see his personal website: http://sites.psu.edu/kerenw/ 

 

The interview may be accessed HERE:   Keren Wang interview here.

Conference Concept Note HERE

Registration (Free) HERE

Conference Website HERE.

Interview: GAO Shan on Straddling the COVID-19 Pandemic From Wuhan, China's Midwest to Minnesota, the US Midwest, for Upcoming Webinar "COVID-19 and International Affairs" (17 April 2020)

In the run up to the Webinar Conference Roundtable, Coronavirus and International Relations, a number of participants and contributors agreed to give short interviews around the conference themes and their own interventions. All Zoom interviews will be posted to the Coalition for Peace and Ethics You Tube Channel COVID-19 Conference Playlist. For our first interview, Flora Sapio spoke to the issues of COVID-19 in Italy and its wider implication. For our second interview, Larry Catá Backer spoke of COVID-19 and meaning making. Yuri Gonzalez was interviewed about COVID-19 and the developing situation in Cuba, which has been able to project medical assistance outward even as it faces the challenges of a developing state. And Alice Hong provided insight on COVID-19 from the perspective of a foreign student in the US.

For our next interview GAO Shan speaks about life under COVID-19 across the US-China divide. Dr. Gao grew up in Wuhan where his parents still live and work.  He is currently working in the US Midwest. He speaks to us about the situation in Wuhan from the perspective of an insider from the outside and then relates those experiences in thinking about the differences in the way that the pandemic is experienced in Wuhan and in the US Midwest.

Dr. Gao (Penn State Law (SJD 2018)) is licensed in New York and China. He currently works for Thomson Reuters Corporation in Minnesota. As a member of Coalition for Peace and Ethics, Dr. Gao has worked to provide guidance for Chinese immigrants in New York State. He produced and distributed the legal education and guidance pamphlet, Know your Rights, an Information Guide to Basics of New York State Legal System (CPE, 2018) under the supervision of professor Backer. His academic research focus on the dynamic interaction between law and social order through the lens of commercial activities of multinational corporations. His S.J.D thesis: The Evolution of China’s Foreign Investment Policy and Law captured the modernization of China’s commercial legal system during the past three decades, provided a well documented chronicle of the evolving foreign investment system during the pre-trade-war era (1949-2016).

 

The interview may be accessed HERE:   GAO Shan interview here.

Conference Concept Note HERE

Registration (Free) HERE

Conference Website HERE.

Interview: Alice Hong on COVID-19 from the Perspective of a Foreign Student in the US for Upcoming Webinar "COVID-19 and International Affairs" (17 April 2020)

In the run up to the Webinar Conference Roundtable, Coronavirus and International Relations, a number of participants and contributors agreed to give short interviews around the conference themes and their own interventions. All Zoom interviews will be posted to the Coalition for Peace and Ethics You Tube Channel COVID-19 Conference Playlist. For our first interview, Flora Sapio spoke to the issues of COVID-19 in Italy and its wider implication. For our second interview, Larry Catá Backer spoke of COVID-19 and meaning making. Yuri Gonzalez was interviewed about COVID-19 and the developing situation in Cuba, which has been able to project medical assistance outward even as it faces the challenges of a developing state.

For our next interview Alice Hong speaks to COVID-19 from the perspective of a foreign student at a US university. She reflects on the way that the great drivers of international relations produce personal and individual effects. She also speaks to the difficulties of dealing with the personal effects  across borders and great distances. 

Ms Hong is an MIA candidate at the School of International Affairs at Penn State University and the President of the Research Network for Law and International Affairs at Penn State. Her interests include International Development and International Relations. She has been involved with various campaigns and conferences related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and applies those experiences to her research. 

 

The interview may be accessed HERE:   Alice Hong Interview

Conference Concept Note HERE

Registration (Free) HERE

Conference Website HERE.

Interview: Yuri Gonzalez Hernandez on COVID-19 and the Situation in Cuba for Upcoming Webinar "COVID-19 and International Affairs" (17 April 2020)

In the run up to the Webinar Conference Roundtable, Coronavirus and International Relations, a number of participants and contributors agreed to give short interviews around the conference themes and their own interventions. All Zoom interviews will be posted to the Coalition for Peace and Ethics You Tube Channel COVID-19 Conference Playlist. For our first interview, Flora Sapio spoke to the issues of COVID-19 in Italy and its wider implication. For our second interview, Larry Catá Backer spoke of COVID-19 and meaning making.

For our next interview Yuri Gonzalez Hernandez speaks about COVID-19 and its effects in Cuba and the Caribbean. He has been reporting on the changing situation there over the last several weeks, and now takes the opportunity to provide a brief summary of the course of events. The area is rich for exposing the way that the pandemic has affected developing states. Cuba, of course, is unique in that respect. It manifests many of the characteristics of a developing states, and yet in some important respects it punches well above its weight. That is manifested both in the way in which Cuba has--to an extent that may be far greater than that of the largest and richest states in Europe, Asia and North America, been able to provide doctors to other states to aid in confronting the pandemic in places where medical infrastructure has been overwhelmed. At the same time Cuba's long efforts in the development of medicine now appears to have had a significant positive effect in meeting the challenge of the pandemic. On the other hand, water scarcity and lack of foreign exchange has made the lives of Cubans more difficult and potentially exposed them to a greater risk.


Mr. Gonzalez Hernandez is a Cuban Lawyer (University of Havana 2009) who is currently in residence at Penn State where he is working on his LLM degree. Before his arrival at Penn State, Mr. Gonzalez Hernandez worked as legal advisor for different Cubans companies, and the tax office of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana. Since 2016 he has provided legal advice to self-employed workers, and also has participated in non-profit entrepreneur projects, aimed at the development of some communities of the City of Havana. He may be contacted at glezyuri15[AT]gmail.com 

 

 

The interview may be accessed HERE:   Yuri Gonzalez Interview

Conference Concept Note HERE

Registration (Free) HERE

Conference Website HERE.

Interview: Larry Catá Backer on Meaning Making and COVID-19 for Upcoming Webinar "COVID-19 and International Affairs" (17 April 2020)

In the run up to the Webinar Conference Roundtable, Coronavirus and International Relations, a number of participants and contributors agreed to give short interviews around the conference themes and their own interventions. All Zoom interviews will be posted to the Coalition for Peace and Ethics You Tube Channel COVID-19 Conference Playlist.  For our first interview, Flora Sapio spoke to the issues of COVID-19 in Italy and its wider implication.

For our next interview Flora turns the tables and interviews Larry Catá Backer. Backer was asked to speak about the reasons for the focus on international affairs in the shadow o the pandemic when much attention has been on the rise of the state as the central element in pandemic countermeasures. Backer also spoke to the issues of the semiotics of CVID-19.  Those semiotics have sought to shape the reality within which the virus (and its effects) has been understood and responses rationally framed. In effect, the semiotics of COVID-19 suggests the way in which human communities have sought to make meaning from the virus, and having made a meaning universe to then apply it to the way in which they understand and respond to the pandemic.  Backer suggested three semiotics reality structures that have already emerged.  The first is grounded on nationality; here the meaning of the virus and the way one understands and responds is built on knowledge of its "Chinese" or "American" character, for example.  The second focused on the virus as a morality. Here meaning making constructs the virus as a moral agent, one that either represents a judgment or serves a s a portal for the projection of moral agendas. The third understands the virus as an incarnation of  responsibility. The virus here provides a means of understanding (and of sorting) the responsibility of institutions--public and private) for the damage it leaves in its wake. Information about Backer may be accessed HERE.

 

The interview may be accessed HERE:   Flora Sapio Interviews Larry Catá Backer

Conference Concept Note HERE

Registration (Free) HERE

Conference Website HERE.

Interview: Flora Sapio on COVID-19 and the Italian Context for Upcoming Webinar "COVID-19 and International Affairs" (17 April 2020)

In the run up to the Webinar Conference Roundtable, Coronavirus and International Relations, a number of participants and contributors agreed to give short interviews around the conference themes and their own interventions. All Zoom interviews will be posted to the Coalition for Peace and Ethics You Tube Channel COVID-19 Conference Playlist.

For our first interview, Flora Sapio speaks to issues of COVID-19 in Italy and its wider implications. Here one encounters the shaping of the European confrontation with the challenges of pandemic and its collateral effects not only on economics and social cohesion, but on the social and economic effects of migration.

Dr. Sapio is a political scientist and a China scholar, who has taught and/or lectured about themes related to the law and politics of China in China, the Hong Kong SAR, the United States, Australia, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Sweden. She is the author or editor of five books and more than 40 research articles in English and Chinese, commentaries on contemporary issues, and a founding member of the European China Law Studies Association. She currently works at her Alma Mater, the Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale” (Italy).

 

The interview may be accessed HERE:  Dr. Flora Sapio, Interview for Conference, COVID-19 and International Affairs (11 April 2020)

Coalition for Peace & Ethics

Conference Concept Note HERE

Registration (Free) HERE

Conference Website HERE.

"Evolutions Converging?: Human Rights Internationalism and the Chinese Political-Economic Model from Reform and Opening Up to New Era Thought"-- Announcing Publication of Volume 15 No. 1 Emancipating the Mind: Bulletin of the Coalition for Peace and Ethics

I am delighted to announce the publication of Volume 15 Issue 1 of Emancipating the Mind: Bulletin of the Coalition for Peace & Ethics (2689-0283 (Print); 2689-0291 (Online); ISBN: 978-949943-02-3).  The theme of this issue is "Evolutions Converging?: Human Rights Internationalism and the Chinese Political-Economic Model from Reform and Opening Up to New Era Thought."

This issue includes a series of essays written by Flora Sapio and me examining the way in which human rights internationalism and the development of Chinese Marxist Leninist ideology may be converging as to form and emphasis. The first set of essays considers the evolution of human rights internationalism through the lens of the 8th U.N. Forum for Business and Human Rights (2019). The second set of essays examines the movement from the Reform and Opening Up Initiative to New Era Thought through the lens of speeches delivered in 1986 by Xi Zhongxun and then in 2018 by his son Xi Jinping.Both evidence the development of changing approaches to the organization and management of societal collectives which have been emerging at the margins of globalization.  Both have been moving closer to center stage, and each, in its own way, challenges core premises around which the post-1945 world order was conceived (and partially constructed).  

All of the essays are available free online.  They may be accessed at the web page for the Bulletin HERE. The Table of Contents (with links to individual essays) and the Introduction follow below.  The entire issue may be downloaded HERE.  Comments, reactions, engagements always welcome.

Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment--Call for Inputs: Healthy Ecosystems and Human Rights: Sustaining the Foundations of Life

David Boyd, the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, has recently circulated a "Call for Inputs"--Healthy Ecosystems and Human Rights: Sustaining the Foundations of Life.  Inputs are due 31 May 2020.  The Call for Inputs follows below.

The Special Rapporteur seeks inputs in  a number of related areas: on the relationship between declining biodiversity and adverse impacts on human rights, and on the legalization of those relationships in ways that prevent, mitigate to remedy both the decline of biodiversity and adverse impacts on human rights.  More specific guidance is sought with respect to the particular burdens on vulnerable populations and human rights defenders. Those are indeed, important elements related to the legalization of standards relating to a "safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment."

For those interested, this exercise might provide an opportunity to align the Special Rapporteur's  project within the context of pandemic. Are pandemics an expression (or the way that one can measure the adverse effects of) declines in bio-diversity or the adverse impact on human rights to health?   Do states have an obligation to accurately and transparently monitor and report the incidence and character of disease? How does one make the connection between environment, societal conditions, and disease? To what extent ought this obligation to monitor and report give rise to a duty to obtain data even form the unwilling? Are the rights (of individuals) and the duties or responsibilities of institutions limited to the relationship between states and persons? What sort of legal-regulatory space ought there be for non-state organizations in the development, compliance with law, norms, or rules respecting sustainability, human rights, and disease? How is that to be reconciled with the principle of individual privacy and rights to informational autonomy? Do states have the obligation to mitigate degradation and decline of biodiversity that might contribute to the spread of disease? Do rights to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment have a constitutional dimension?   Even in the absence of answers, the questions reveal the way in which approaches to human rights and sustainability both require reframing (e.g., OECD Watch statement urging OECD action during COVID-19 crisis (9 April 2020; statement may be accessed here; Want to Stop the Next Pandemic? Start Protecting Wildlife Habitats).