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Christian Dittus
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THE PANDEMIC PIVOT

John Feffer

A Report From The Institute For Policy Studies, The Transnational Institute, And Focus On The Global South

In June and July of 2020, the Institute for Policy Studies invited 68 of the world's leading thinkers and activists to participate in eight in-depth discussions. Their task: to assess the implications of COVID-19 for key global issues as well as the potential for transformative change coming out of this crisis. They discussed a Green recovery, the global economy, coronavirus authoritarianism, migrants and refugees, budget priorities, the global ceasefire, international civil society, and multilateral cooperation. This report by John Feffer from the frontlines of global policy stands in stark contrast to the reality in the world today. Reading it amounts to a return to sanity and humane governance, and illuminates the way forward that is still possible if we begin soon.

Participants included EcoEquity Executive Director and author Tom Athanasiou; Nigerian architect, environmental activist and author Nnimmo Bassey; Focus on the Global South co-founder and author Walden Bello; CODEPINK and Global Exchange co-founder and acclaimed peace activist Medea Benjamin; AFL-CIO International Department director Cathy Feingold; Indian columnist and International Development Economics Associates executive secretary Jayati Ghosh; author and arms trade expert Bill Hartung; Peace and World Security Studies director and noted author Michael Klare; Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft CEO and noted author Lora Lumpe; Yale professor and distinguished author on human rights and peace studies Samuel Moyn; Geneva-based human rights advocate Aziz Muhamat; acclaimed political philosopher Jan-Werner Muller; African storyteller and writer Coumba Toure--to name just a few, representing organizations and regions from across the globe.

JOHN FEFFER is the director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies. He is the author, most recently, of Aftershock: A Journey into Eastern Europe's Broken Dreams and the Splinterlands trilogy.
THE INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES (IPS) is a progressive think tank based in Washington, DC, dedicated to building a more equitable, ecologically sustainable, and peaceful society. In partnership with dynamic social movements, they turn transformative policy ideas into action.
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Published by Seven Stories Press

Comments

If a crisis is also an opportunity, teachers and students everywhere can benefit from this collective but visionary response to the pandemic. Across crucial policy areas, diverse voices suggest how we can seize our moment to leap beyond some of the endemic injustices of the past, locally, and globally. -- —Samuel Moyn, Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence at Yale Law School and Professor of History at Yale University

[...] Progressives will gather valuable talking points from this shrewd assessment of the current state of global affairs. - Publisher's Weekly Read more...