COVID-19 has changed the world and the way we live it, establishing something of a ânew normalâ as states and societies battle the pandemic and learn to accommodate its multidimensional effects. For Libyansâ living in the midst of conflict, normality and a new normal are difficult to determine.
COVID-19 has exacerbated factors influencing international support for peacebuilding, including a more volatile geopolitical order and changes in domestic priorities in donor countries. Peacebuilding and a conflict-sensitive approach have not yet been at the forefront of the international responses to COVID-19, undermining attempts to âbuild back betterâ in a world where negative conflict dynamics are increasingly apparent.
Media coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic has raised the profile of armed groups in curious and often contradictory ways. ODIâs Centre for the Study of Armed Groups will seek to address these challenges in several ways.
COVID-19 has caused disruptions across the globe on a scale not previously imagined. This brief looks at the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis for conflict-affected areas in Africa, as well as measures taken against the pandemic, which are likely to be even more profound and far-reaching. But as the virus continues to spread, the impact of COVID-19 on ongoing conflicts is still uncertain.
Europeans are incredibly lucky to largely not know what it feels like to fear for their lives due to war and violence. Yet suddenly, communities in Europe share characteristics with people who live in countries with violent conflict: coronavirus makes lives precarious and incomes unstable. It shows what itâs like when public services are underfunded, unreliable and insufficient.