The Pandemic as a Magnifying Glass

Listen to the podcast!

What Conditions that Prevent Ending Violence Can We Now See More Clearly?

This conversation focuses on the ways in which the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted governance weaknesses in the MENA region and contributed to their ongoing crisis of legitimacy.

Scholars who advise relief agencies and donor countries see new opportunities to link pandemic-related assistance with the implementation of more durable reforms that reduce inequality, prioritize investment in critical infrastructure, and encourage transparent and responsive citizen-government interactions to prevent and discourage violence.

Questions and ideas about exactly how interventions and aid can be targeted to meet current needs while also supporting more permanent anti-violence social, political, and governance structures will be explored.

This conversation will be moderated by Hal Plotkin, a founding editor of the U.S. public radio program, Marketplace, and a former Senior Policy Advisor in the administration of President Barack Obama.