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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France held municipal elections this year, where citizens voted for the mayors of their towns and cities. COVID-19 greatly impacted the voting process, causing delays, confusion, and more in an election that was anything but traditional.
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Many individuals have pointed to the astounding efforts of New Zealand to control COVID-19. Along with the international community, the country’s handling of the coronavirus was also praised by its citizens. This played an important role in the re-election of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who orchestrated early virus restrictions. Her immediate plan was to not just control the spread of the virus, but eliminate it entirely.
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2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is facing a critical moment as ethnic tensions boil. Abiy was elected in 2018 and is seen by many outsiders as a reformer seeking to lead Ethiopia away from the current system of ethnic federalism towards a more unified, secular federalist form of government. Under the constitution, Ethiopia is divided into nine ethnically-based regions that are each granted a significant amount of autonomy from the central government.
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Australia’s relationship with China, its largest trading partner, is increasingly strained as a result of a row over new Chinese trade restrictions. Relations between the two nations have been tense for years due to a series of policy disputes. When Australia supported an international inquiry into China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, their ties officially began to sour.
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Thousands of people in Poland are taking to the streets in protest over a new court ruling on abortion, reports the New York Times. The nation’s top court’s decision completely bans the practice except in cases of rape, incest, or health necessity.
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On October 8, Saeb Erekat, a high-profile Palestinian diplomatic negotiator and Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee, announced that he tested positive for COVID-19. When his health worsened, Erekat was rushed to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center, an Israeli hospital located in Jerusalem, reports Reuters.
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In response to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the Spanish government has declared a national state of emergency. As of October 30, the total number of cases in Spain reached 1,264,517 with 35,878 deaths reported. Among the new measures instituted to prevent another near-collapse of the country’s hospital capacity is an overnight curfew that will be in place for the next six months, reports the Associated Press.
Read MoreOn October 15, the head of the World Health Organization in Europe called for restrictive measures after a major increase of coronavirus cases throughout the continent, reports The Associated Press.
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China’s trans-national Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has hit a roadblock as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to flare. Al Jazeera reports that most construction has been halted to stop the spread of the virus, with 20 percent of projects being seriously impacted. Now, many countries fear they may not be able to pay back their loans to China or meet their deadline obligations.
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