In her chapter “Fragmented Responsibility in a Global World,” Author Charlotte Ku asks many questions about authority, liability, and obligation. She begins with a discussion of what responsibilities exist between individual sovereign states. In general, a nation will act in its own best interest, however, in an interconnected world, and especially one desirous of peace, the limit on the actions of one state is when it begins infringing on the sovereignty of another. Continue reading
Tag Archives: covid 19
Echoes of the Past: Invisibility and Racism
This is an insight written by Stella Hudson on the recent Bahá’í Chair for World Peace Lecture by Professor Yohuru Williams on “Simply Because People Refuse to See Me: Black Lives Matter in Historical Context” held on February 8, 2022.
In many ways, this contemporary moment feels unique. The after-effects of 2020 and the ongoing pandemic, the January 6th insurrection, Trump’s presidency, our reckoning with police violence against people of color, anti-Asian sentiments; so many tensions seem to be boiling to the surface. However, Dr. Yohuru Williams’s talk “Simply Because People Refuse to See Me: Black Lives Matter in Historical Context” points out a very significant aspect of our current moment: none of this is new at all. Our contemporary phenomena are echoes of history and reflect the issues, questions, violence, prejudice, and activism of the past.
How Big a Crisis is Necessary to Force the World to Work Together?
Millions of people have died from a virus that does not respect national sovereignty or borders. The impact of the pandemic has been immediate and devastating. Short of halting all travel and going into total lockdown, there is no way to contain Covid-19 and all of its variants. We already know from experience that lockdowns and travel bans are ineffective, extremely unpleasant, and detrimental to economies. As in so many situations, the very wealthy will make it through this relatively unscathed, but where does that leave everyone else?
What happened to happiness?
This blogpost by Dr. Tiffani Betts Razavi was first published on The International Educator. The original post can be viewed here.
COVID-19 caused 2 million deaths in 2020 – an increase of almost 4% in the worldwide annual death rates – and left the living with “greater economic insecurity, anxiety, disruption of every aspect of life, and, for many people, stress and challenges to mental and physical health.” In the midst of these extraordinary conditions, what happened to happiness? Continue reading
Upcoming Virtual Event: The Colors of COVID-19: Confronting Health Disparities During a Global Pandemic
February 16, 2021
2pm – 3.30pm
Virtual – Register in advance at https://tinyurl.com/bahai-colors (link is external)
Professor Stephen B. Thomas, Professor, Health Policy and Management and Director, Maryland Center for Health Equity
Abstract:
Never in our lives have we experienced such a global phenomenon. For the first time in history, the world has come together, focused on the same existential threat, consumed by the same fears and uncertainties, eagerly anticipating the same, yet unrealized, promises of medical science. In a matter of months, human civilization has been brought low by the novel SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), a microscopic parasite 10,000 times smaller than a grain of salt. COVID-19 attacks our physical bodies, but also the cultural foundations of our lives. Depending upon how we respond, our lives, and literally our way of life, hangs in the balance. Continue reading
How to reduce the racial gap in COVID-19 deaths – Professor Rashawn Ray
This is a reflection written by Professor Rashawn Ray, David M. Rubenstein Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, and Professor of Sociology and Executive Director of the Lab for Applied Social Science Research (LASSR) at the University of Maryland, College Park. The blogpost is included in the series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic and was originally published on the Fixgov blog of Brookings.
How can Collaboration and Open Source Tech Protect Civil Society Privacy? – Derek Caelin
This is a reflection written by Derek Caelin, Innovation and Data Senior Specialist at Counterpart International, for the new series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Continue reading