Will Covid-19 threaten or foster global cooperation?

Democratic societies are in the midst of an increasing polarization process. Political mobilization on highly divisive issues has evolved into a challenge to the fundamental basements of our political systems and increased polarization in societies. 

Usually these dynamics revert into an excessive simplification of ever-increasing complexities under the shape of populism, and can derivate into involution processes that jeopardy the foundations of liberal democracies. The democratic quality of our societies and institutions degrades and with it, the possibility to engage in constructive dialogues that tackle effectively the current concerns of democratic societies. 

The Covid-19 pandemic and the socio-economic crisis deriving from it has increased these trends. The coronavirus crisis has, on the one hand, made the need for better global governance structures more evident and, on the other, further reinforced isolationist and “my country first” approaches to global politics. Multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization or the World Trade Organization have fostered dialogue over polarization since World War II but now look at the future with great uncertainty. The session will feature presentations by Daniela Schwarzer, Director of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and Janis A. Emmanouilidis, Director of Studies at the European Policy Centre (EPC), and will be moderated by Pol Morillas, director of CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs). 

>> The conference will be streamed live in English and in Spanish at CIDOB’s Youtube channel.

>> Follow the event live in English at: Will Covid-19 threaten or foster global cooperation?

>> Sigue el acto en directo en castellano aquí: Covid-19: ¿Amenaza o impulso para la cooperación global?