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Begin New Search Topic Pandemic Political Geography Asia

21. The Social and Economic Impacts of COVID-19 Mitigation Measures on Citizens and Permanent Residents During the Circuit Breaker Period in Singapore

Author:
Patrick Daly, Caroline Brassard, Jamie McCaughey, Reuben Ng, Laavanya Kathiravelu, and Benjamin Horton
Publication Date:
08-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
The Singapore government instituted a set of ‘Circuit Breaker’ (CB) measures in April 2020 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. These included restricting international travel, closing non-essential businesses, telecommuting, home-based learning, wearing faces masks in public spaces, temperature screening, rigorous contract tracing, and isolating infected and exposed persons. The COVID-19 CB measures helped the government control COVID-19 transmission in Singapore but disrupted economic and social life. This NTS Insight presents data from a representative survey on the social and economic impacts of Singapore’s COVID-19 mitigation measures during the CB period on Singaporean citizens and permanent residents from 7 May to 16 July 2020. Our results show that the top three cited disruptions caused by the CB were all social in nature. However, just under half of all respondents reported some form of direct economic disruption – while up to 80% of respondents expressed concerns about their longer-term financial situation. Finally, our disaggregated analysis shows that some of the negative impacts of the CB period disproportionately impacted potentially vulnerable segments of the population.
Topic:
Economics, Public Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Asia and Singapore

22. Planetary Health and Triple Planetary Crisis: Relevance for Multilateral Cooperation on Biodiversity Protection and Conservation in Southeast Asia

Author:
Margareth Sembiring
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a search of its causes. Among the various theories available, nature decline offers a compelling explanation for the outbreak and the spread of the disease. This coincides with the formulation of the term ‘triple planetary crisis’ which refers to simultaneous issues of pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss confronting the world today. These propositions give biodiversity protection a stronger focus and gain planetary health concept greater traction. In this regard, biodiversity protection and conservation measures at the regional level are particularly important given their transboundary coverage. Despite existing initiatives, they have yet to yield to outcomes sufficient to address triple planetary crisis. The rise of planetary health concept amidst this pandemic time could potentially
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Multilateralism, Conservation, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Asia

23. Promoting health diplomacy in the fight against COVID-19: the case of Vietnam

Author:
Le Dinh Tinh and Nguyễn Tiền Thanh
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:
Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:
The global but uneven course of the Covid-19 pandemic highlights the importance of international cooperation and negotiation on such matters as financial assistance, medical equipment provision, vaccine development and distribution, and other pandemic response measures. This article will present a theoretical overview of “health diplomacy” and analyze the case of Vietnam within this framework, showing how the country’s political response to the pandemic demonstrates an increasingly proactive engagement in health diplomacy. The article argues that health diplomacy will become more relevant for international relations in the time to come and that the case of Vietnam might yield valuable lessons.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Asia and Vietnam

24. Precarity and the Pandemic: A survey of wage issues and Covid-19 impacts amongst migrant seafood workers in Thailand

Author:
Josh Stride
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This report presents findings from an extensive survey of migrant workers in the Thai seafood industry conducted by the CSO Coalition. The report focuses on the issue of low wages, the gender pay gap and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on these issues and the workers who experience them. It also aims to develop a national discussion around the issues of a living wage and a decent living for the hardworking migrant workers who generate wealth and produce food for wealthy companies and consumers around the world.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Labor Policies, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Asia and Thailand

25. The World Bank in Asia: An assessment of COVID-19-related investments through a care lens. Care-responsive investments and development finance

Author:
Bist Joshi and Dharmistha Chauhan
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
International financial institutions (IFIs) have been playing a vital role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and will play an equally important role in the recovery and ‘build back anew’ agenda. This is particularly true of the World Bank Group (WBG), given its high volumes of committed investments across sectors, especially in low-income and vulnerable countries. This report presents, through case studies, how care-responsive the World Bank’s COVID-19-related investments have been in four member countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal and the Philippines. It does so by using the Care Principles and Care-Responsiveness Barometer for IFIs to assess the nature of the WBG’s COVID-19 investments in these select countries, and by building evidence through a gender- and care-responsive budget review. The report demonstrates that the Bank has a foundation for care-inclusion upon which to build, and urges it to adopt a more comprehensive care-responsive approach to its operations in order to move towards rebuilding a more gender-just and equal future.
Topic:
World Bank, Finance, Investment, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Asia

26. Statelessness and COVID-19

Author:
Jamie Liew
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:
Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:
Throughout the past year and a half, we have witnessed how no person or community on this planet has been untouched by COVID-19. There are countless reports about the differential experiences that various communities face in access to healthcare but also how some public health measures meant to stem its spread may actually be harming particular persons. The pandemic has put into sharp focus the inequities and the gaping fractures in societies all over the world. Moreover, the pandemic has made many realise that we cannot ignore the marginalised in our community given the interconnectedness of our existence. This issue’s critique and commentary part presents a snapshot of how some stateless persons are coping during the pandemic but also features the work of grassroots organisations and emerging researchers. We take a look at five stateless communities: the Rohingya in Bangladesh;1 LGBTQ+ undocumented in Brazil;2those seeking reproductive healthcare in Canada;3 the Bidoon in Kuwait;4 and the stateless in Sabah, Malaysia
Topic:
Public Health, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Stateless Population
Political Geography:
Bangladesh, Malaysia, Middle East, Canada, Asia, Kuwait, Brazil, South America, and North America

27. Reaching Stateless, Undocumented and Migrant Communities during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author:
Mary Anne K. Baltazar and Amanda R. Cheong
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:
Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:
In May 2020, the United Nations Refugee Agency issued a statement emphasising the particular vulnerabilities faced by stateless populations during the global COVID-19 crisis. In stating that ‘nobody can be protected unless everybody is included, and that means including often invisible, stateless populations’,1 UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi highlighted two issues: 1) COVID-19 has not only exposed, but has moreover exacerbated existing inequalities, including those operating along the dimension of legal status; and 2) the protracted exclusion of stateless peoples may undermine governments’ efforts to protect the health of their populations’ recognisedcitizens. Grandi’s commentsecho recommendations from the World Health Organization and other international bodies that governments ‘leave no one behind’ in their responses to COVID-19.2 Yet, in many contexts, stateless persons and others who are legally marginalised have not adequately been factored into policies for managing COVID-19.Such realities are all too apparent in Malaysia, which is home to a significant, albeit unknown, number of stateless persons, irregular migrants and their descendants. Statelessness impacts a diverse cross-section of the Malaysian population and is a status not exclusive to migrants. Rather, statelessness is ‘homegrown’ in Malaysia, affecting generations of people who were born and raised in the country, but for various reasons are nevertheless denied political membership.3 The majority of stateless and undocumented persons in Malaysia live in the state of Sabah, East Malaysia, and are predominantly composed of people of Indonesian and Filipino descent who are excluded from a range of basic rights and protections, including freedom from arbitrary detention and deportation, education and healthcare.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Public Health, Pandemic, COVID-19, Stateless Population, and Migrants
Political Geography:
Malaysia and Asia

28. COVID-19 in Cox's Bazar Pandemic Narratives from the World's Largest Refugee Camp

Author:
Yuriko Cowper-Smith
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:
Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:
Conditions in the camps have changed significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Rohingya refugees face intensified challenges. As outlined, the lack of sustainability regarding food and water distribution is acutely apparent. Without suitable rations or the ability to supplement rations, refugees cannot fulfil their nutritional needs. Through the new requirements which necessitate staying close to home or indoors for long periods, the existing housing has been exposed as being less than adequate. Appropriate healthcare is more critical, and other services, such as education, are needed to sustain young refugees’ wellbeing. As in all communities, reliable information is vital to lessen the impacts of rumours and misinformation, which cause fear. Finally, gender-based inequities are aggravated by the tenuous situation.Concerning the camps, the pandemic blatantly reveals that the camps urgently require a long-term political solution. Currently, Bangladesh does not issue exit visas to Rohingya refugees, and many refugees do not hold official refugee status. This means that they cannot leave Bangladesh to be resettled in a third country. At the same time, safe repatriation is not an option due to the ongoing coup d’état and the likelihood of continued persecution upon return. This impasse, heightened by the pandemic, demonstrates that the Rohingya communities in the camps need to be able to access more permanent solutions to their plight within-country or have the option to be resettled abroad.
Topic:
Public Health, Pandemic, COVID-19, Rohingya, and Stateless Population
Political Geography:
Asia, Burma, and Myanmar

29. Towards open and secure digital connectivity: Europe’s and Taiwan’s paths after the world’s first digital pandemic

Author:
Brigitte Dekker, Xiaoxue Martin, and Maaike Okano-Heijmans
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations
Abstract:
Surveillance capitalism and digital authoritarianism have become facts of life in recent years. Set against the US–China trade–tech–data standoff, the European Union (EU) and its member states are navigating their course of open strategic autonomy, assessing how to position themselves in the digital age. Synergies and coordination with like-minded partners – including the United States (US) and countries in the Indo-Pacific – seem inevitable. This raises the question of to what extent Taiwan can be a partner for closer cooperation on digital matters. Can the EU, and specifically the Netherlands, and Taiwan move beyond diverging priorities, and promote a human-centred approach to the digital domain by leveraging their economic, scientific and cultural ties? In answering this question, this Clingendael Report examines the approaches of both sides to strengthening resilient societies, so-called ‘Big Tech’ regulation and digital development assistance. Findings suggest that while the underlying strategic interests and goals of Taiwan and Europe on digital connectivity align, priorities and strengths diverge. China’s growing influence and assertive behaviour pose a substantial challenge to both sides’ open, inclusive democracies, economic competitiveness and standard-setting power. As Europe and Taiwan improve policies domestically, as well as in and with third countries, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, they can benefit from each other’s complementary skills in specific digitalisation and digital connectivity domains.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Authoritarianism, Surveillance, Pandemic, and Digitalization
Political Geography:
Europe, Taiwan, and Asia

30. Scope of Media Advocacy During COVID-19: A Selected Case Study in Kolkata

Author:
Rajesh Das and Ipsita Banerjee
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
The spread of the Covid-19 has presented an unparalleled challenge for media management as well as for the media content. The pattern of daily life changed due to the excessive use of media. India, as a nation has been in the third position worldwide, many deaths during a pandemic are concerned. Kolkata being one of the metro cities of the country has not been exempted. The regional media content perceived a knowledge gap with the highest circulated national daily of the country. The changed media content, and audience perception towards the change, and the need for media advocacy during any health crisis in general and Covid-19 in particular, is studied in this paper using a mixed approach of both quantitative and qualitative. The discourse analysis of the newspapers in a constructed week format, representing a six months study during the pandemic, and the primary data from the audience suggested the behavior change and attitude formation through media, in this unique study.
Topic:
Media, Public Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
India and Asia