2020

FocusNovember 20202020Elections in the Age of Coronavirus

Focus on Elections During Coronavirus: South Korea

In March 2019, toward the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea became one of the first countries outside of China to face the COVID-19 pandemic. The country adopted a liberal yet effective way to flatten the infection curve, ultimately enabling the country to host their parliamentary elections on April 15 as scheduled. The results were staggering.

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Eastern EuropeNovember 2020International News2020

Kosovo’s President Hashim Thaci Resigns as he Faces War Crimes Charges

resident Hashim Thaci of Kosovo stepped down on November 5 in response to charges of murder, torture, and persecution related to his involvement in Kosovo’s war for independence in 1998. NPR reports that Thaci stepped down in order “to protect the integrity of the state” of Kosovo. He also reportedly urged Kosovars to maintain “political and civic unity.” Thaci is scheduled to appear in court on November 9. He was flown to The Hague, along with Kadrim Veseli, leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, and Rexhep Selimi, a Kosovo Member of Parliament, reports the BBC.

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November 2020International News2020Europe

COVID-19: Lockdown in England and Europe as COVID-19 Cases Surge

The acceleration of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe has forced multiple countries to enforce stringent social-distancing rules to prevent a return to full-blown lockdowns. In the final week of October, however, countries across Europe- including the UK, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal- all recorded their highest daily number of cases since the pandemic began, Time reports.

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November 2020International News2020Europe

Sesame Workshop Partners with the International Rescue Committee to Educate Refugee Children  

Education plays a vital role in the lives of refugee children. In an interview with CBS, David Miliband, the Chief Executive Officer of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), informs that only two percent of humanitarian aid goes to education and from that, an even smaller amount goes to educating young children.

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November 2020Opinion2020

Politicization of a Pandemic Costs Lives

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Governor of São Paulo João Doria clashed over the implementation of a mandatory coronavirus vaccination of the São Paulo region. Joao Doria is in favor of making CoronaVac, a COVID-19 immunization, mandatory alongside other non-coronavirus vaccines as Brazil requires. Sinovac is a China-based biopharmaceutical company developing the CoronaVac and would conduct phase three trials on the São Paulo citizens, which is favored by Governor Doria, according to the South China Morning Post.

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November 2020Opinion2020

Should the Opinions of Foreign Leaders Matter in U.S. Elections?

The recent November election in the United States shed light on the near future of the U.S.’s international involvement. In many ways, the future of many trade agreements depended on this election, with certain doom guaranteed from a Trump victory. However, even as Biden came out on top, there was not necessarily a wave of hope and certainty for many foreign leaders, states NPR

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Campus SpotlightNovember 20202020School of Diplomacy News

Professor from John Hopkins University Delivers Lecture on Decolonizing International Relations Theory

On Friday, November 13, the School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University invited Dr. Robbie Shilliam to discuss decolonizing International Relations (IR) theory. Dr. Shilliam is a professor in the Department of International Relations at Johns Hopkins University.

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