Get ready for the two phases of virus crisis
The coronavirus pandemic marks the beginning of an extended period of recession. Communities around the world will have to learn to live with a crisis comparable only to the two world wars.
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World War Z and our novel pandemic
The coronavirus crisis has caused a global lockdown, as extraordinary precautions have been taken by many countries across the world to prevent its spread. Since then many observers have started highlighting the similarities of the current situation with the plot of movies on epidemics. In the last several weeks, some of these movies, such as "Outbreak" and "Contagion" have become popular again.
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The novel coronavirus outbreak that began in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan has turned into a global threat. The World Health Organization (WHO) defined the threat as a pandemic and called on every nation to take necessary precautions. Though the pandemic has lost the momentum it had during initially in China, it keeps spreading across the globe. New cases and deaths are reported every day, especially in the U.S. and Europe. The situation spiraled out of control in Italy and Iran, while in Turkey, the first cases began to emerge. Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced at a news conference on the night of March 17 that the number of cases was 98 and that one person had died.
Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has become the embodiment of the country’s fight against the coronavirus. He urged everyone last week to “declare their own state of emergency” – possibly suggesting that the Turkish government was not prepared to impose an official curfew yet.
The coronavirus is turning a new page for both world politics and the economy, but, it seems we are not yet prepared to face the challenges
The COVID-19 pandemic is, first and foremost, a health risk. But we also rate various countries’ response to the crisis – like a stock market. In doing so, the main criterion is who was adequately prepared and whose response proved sufficient.
COVID-19 and differences in leadership
As China declares victory over the coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) says Europe has become the pandemic’s epicenter. With Italy’s death toll on the rise, Western leaders have responded to the crisis in different ways. It is possible to argue that ideology, together with their respective health care systems’ total capacity and leadership styles, played some role there.
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Saudi gamble at delicate time: Detentions, oil price war
Saudi Arabia has been in the news for the last several weeks due to recent economic and political developments in the kingdom. If the government does not control the pace of the developments, it will be quite difficult to maintain social, economic and political stability. The ailing King Mohammad bin Salman and his son Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) took some seemingly significant but high-stake gambles in the last few weeks.
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Since the spread of the coronavirus worldwide, many have argued that the response will influence various dimensions of the international system.
It's fair to say the world is more than fixated on the COVID-19 outbreak. The fear of illness unites us all. We are watching the virus spread and adapting our daily lives by taking precautions accordingly. Society’s current concern over contracting the disease is unlike that of any previous security concern
The coronavirus pandemic established, however, that we, as fellow humans, have a middle ground and certain shared responsibilities beyond self-interest and fear. No country can afford to isolate itself from the outside world. That path only leads to more poverty, conflict and bloodshed. What was simply a Chinese problem just weeks ago is now a truly global issue.
Since the emergence of the coronavirus epidemic in different parts of the world, many have argued that the response of this epidemic will influence various dimensions of the international system. There were debates about international actors and organizations and their potential role during this epidemic. In this column, for instance, the potential impact of the World Health Organization (WHO) will be discussed.
After a six-hour meeting between leaders and technical committees, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart announced a cease-fire for Syria's Idlib. During the meeting at the Kremlin, the presidents gave short speeches. The whole world followed the process as the decisions could trigger an escalation in violence while intensifying the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Syria. Turkey and Russia both wanted to end the civil war but were unwilling to concede their positions. For both Turkey and Russia, bilateral relations were at stake as well.
The concept of human security has emerged as an essential paradigm for understanding global vulnerabilities as part of a shift that goes beyond traditional security concerns. According to this paradigm, the main focus of security should be human beings rather than political entities such as states and proposes a multidisciplinary understanding of security covering many fields, such as international relations, strategic studies, human rights and development studies.
Two weeks ago in this column, it was stated that the new coronavirus epidemic should serve as a wake-up call for the international community to better prepare for the next outbreak.
In 2003, the SARS virus was one of the first wake-up calls for the pro-globalization crowd in regard to the potential impacts of the erosion of borders vis-a-vis the spread of diseases. Although pandemics were nothing new for the world, the rapid spread of the SARS virus generated concerns about the future.
