Covid-19, Conflict, and Governance Evidence Summary No.1

This week, many of the key themes that emerged at the start of the Covid-19 continue to be discussed, including: allegations of corruption related to Covid-19 funds, increasing authoritarianism, gender based violence, and risks to gender inequality. A newer theme being discussed is the situation of youth e.g. regarding the vulnerability of young people, and providing a new deal for youth. This week’s summary features policy papers reflecting on the resilience of institutions (transparency, accountability and participation) in responding to Covid-19 (published by the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)); the challenges Covid-19 poses to globalisation (Long Crisis Network) and to global governance (Council on Foreign Relations); whether Covid-19 could ‘jump-start’ national reconciliation in Palestine (Carnegie); and guidance and reflections on conflict sensitivity in the Covid-19 world (Saferworld). Most papers and blogs fall under the broad area of governance, with fewer focussing on conflict. The summary uses two main sections – (1) literature: – this includes policy papers, academic articles, and long-form articles that go deeper than the typical blog; and (2) blogs & news articles. The articles in section (1) that are journal articles, or that explicitly state having been peer reviewed, are highlighted in yellow. See the end of this email for details on the method taken for this rapid summary. It is the result of one day of work, and thus is not intended to be comprehensive of all issues or publications.