Webinar: The effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Peace and Security

The webinar was honoured with the presence of 3 remarkable speakers: Valeria Bello, author of the book "International Migration and International Security: Why Prejudice Is a Global Security Threat" (Routledge, 2017); Serge Stroobants, director for Europe & MENA region at IEP and Tom Woodhouse, professor of Conflict Resolution, and visiting professor at our School.

Heads or tails?

Among the themes of the main content, Dr. Bello expressed how the Covid-19 pandemic has drawn attention to threats and structural causes, such as inequalities, the root for most armed conflicts, or domestic violence, which have many social and economic consequences.

At the same time, she pointed out many of the positives: solidarity, cooperation, wellbeing against individualism, and the opportunities that this contexts brings us: to change specific dynamics and frameworks (i.e.: climate change); raise the importance of our individual/social actions; reconsiderations of solidarity or the use of technology; or the anticipation of risks.

A matter of peace

During his intervention, Mr. Stroobants raised the point of how the same challenge is not receiving the same response due to different leaderships, as well as observing the lack of investment in Peace Dividends during the past 30 years. He remarked that an interdependence system is key in coping with this “learning-by-doing” process we are experiencing in the current pandemic. He also stressed how political leaders are now integrating the experts' advice and knowledge in their decision-making, a different trend compared with the past.

Both institutions are also co-organizing the master’s degree in Peace, Conflicts and Security. This webinar was a good sign how the Academy, and in particular, those studies want to tackle the challenge that Covid-19 is currently posing.