Embedded Files
WEB FORUM
organized by
International Political Science Association
Research Committee on Security, Conflict and Democratization (RC44)
on
New Threats, New Movements, New Nationalisms:
The Risks and Securitization of COVID-19
17-18 September 2020, UTC (GMT) Time
Photo from several sessions of the forum
Concept
The conference examines three major trends and their contexts taking place simultaneously in the world today: the responses to the impact of COVID-19 as a new security threat; the explosive growth of political movements for diversity and equality, inspired by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement); and the re-emergence of nationalism in various forms as a result of diverse factors.
New threats
As we watch the devastating impact of COVID-19 in horror, we come to the realization that the pandemic has spread across cities, countries and continents with ease thus leading to stringent border controls. We also find that our lives are interdependent to such a degree, that attempts to contain the virus through lockdowns have consequences in the form of undermining social and economic wellbeing, violation of basic human rights, and curtailing of fundamental expressions of communal identities. The virus has become securitized and the narrative of threat is often used in the context of human security, social security and national security. The language of war, which distinguishes “us” and “them” and talks about enemies, attack, defense, and mobilization have become part of the media, medical and political vocabulary. Security forces are mobilized, borders are closed, citizen surveillance is encouraged and national emergency becomes the new normal.
The near-collapse of the neoliberal corporate establishment has given the state absolute control of economies as the last bastion of societal power. This has been reinforced by immense public expenditures, high-profile corporate bankruptcies and soaring unemployment rates. Frustrations from rapid deterioration of living standards, loss of income and increasing poverty have paved the way for widespread anger. These frustrations have been met with police and the military coercion and this contributes to a spiral of antagonism, distrust and overreaction. Populist leaders have exploited such antagonisms and manipulated them to serve their ideological interests and taking advantage of the situation to impose repressive measures. Resentment aggravated by the pandemic has trickled down to the community sphere where daily culture has also been securitized as people avoid each other as “threats”, old prejudices are invoked as racial scapegoating, and social movements are met with battle-like response by police and military. New battle lines have been drawn and social movements have morphed into identity struggles, mobilized through social networking, and governments have responded with smart surveillance, application of emergency powers, and excessive recourse to police and military force.
New movements
The COVID-19 crisis was further complicated by the world-wide protest for diversity and equality, inspired by the BLM in the US. This tsunami of global protests has brought into question some mainstream notions of power, security and equality, especially how they have led to the marginalization and insecurity of some groups. The BLM movement also spurred other new movements and gave energy to some old ones. Race, gender and religion as identity-fulcrums are cross-fertilizing into a more virulent and sustained contestation over the Establishment. To what extent have these movements linked up with other progressive movements and what are impacts on society? How have these raised questions about collective security of ethnic, minority, religious, political and social groups around the world who find themselves confined to oppressive and discriminatory political spaces?
New nationalisms
Through closed borders and expressions of group identity emanating from large-scale grievances, COVID-19 has contributed to creating new and reinforcing existing nationalistic interests and demands. Some of these new forms of nationalism have also been enthused by the BLM movement, some by existing ethnic and religious tensions within states and some, as in the case of the Nile, by resource dispute. In many cases the new nationalism has links to identification of new threats and extrapolation of new movements. Most of these may not be aimed at popular emancipation, civil integration and democratic unification and aim for withdrawal, confinement, and even isolation. Some forms of ethno-nationalism can be highly racialized in the form of far-right racial supremacists and leaders who support mono-cultural values. Frustration and fear shape new forms of nationalism.
The three broad strands above take place within a wider framework of global transformation and concerns over conflict and security and need to be addressed from variety perspectives many of which fall outside of the narrow definition of traditional security studies. Some such concerns are specified in the theme areas below, but we openly encourage further creative elaboration of the themes.
Program (*18 September 2020)
The printed version of the program can be downloaded from here: IPSA RCSCD WEB FORUM 2020 PROGRAM ver.3
Convening times in UTC/GMT and other time zones (*double check your time with UTC/GMT)
Session A: Day 1, September 17 (early session)
Session B: September 17 (late session)
Session C: September 18 (early session)
Session D: September 18 (late session)
Instructions
1. Executive board members will serve as the technical assistants and web managers of the panels.
2. The Zoom link and forum administration will be provided by the assigned board members. The Zoom link will be sent out to registered participants a day before the forum.
3. The web forum will be conducted on the basis of paper presentations, comments, and interactive discussions between participants based on the panel theme.
4. The procedures for panel presentations and discussions will be arranged by panel chairs, and they should follow the established procedure in IPSA.
5. Generally panel presentations are about 12-20 minutes long, followed by about 5-10 minute comments, responses by the panelists to the comments, and replies to questions from the floor (chat or raised hands in ZOOM).
6. When the microphone is allowed, it should be muted when listening and not speaking, and must be unmuted only when speaking.
7. To request your turn to speak, a message must be sent through the Zoom Chat Group, simply saying “me.”
8. Because of the time extreme differences, a timetable will be drawn up to ensure that all participants are well accommodated
Important dates
Abstracts (max 300 words) should be submitted to the form below, by the extended deadline for short abstracts on 22 August 2020 (passed).
Full papers are due on 10 September 2020. Papers should be in the Chicago 18 style, best with in-text citations. All papers should be sent to: cmplrad@nagasaki-u.ac.jp
The web forum will take place on 17-18 September 2020.
All time schedules for the conference are based on UTC Coordinated Universal Time (Casablanca time zone) and the timetable will be drawn up and advertised here to ensure that all participants are well accommodated.
You can find more on time zones and time converter here:
https://www.timeanddate.com/time/map/
The symposium will be divided into two time slots, which will assure simultaneous accessibility from all around the globe.
Time slot A is UTC/GMT 04:00~06:00
Time slot B is UTC 16:00~18:00
Venue
The whole conference will be held online over ZOOM hosted by the organizing committee. If you have concerns over connectivity, let us know.
Panel procedures
The chair, co-chair of the panel, and organizer will be the shared hosts for each online panel. Links to the panel websites will be available for all participants. Presenters will deliver their presentations in person, and share their presentations through shared screens in ZOOM.
Expenses
The conference is free of charge.
Abstract submission form (~22 August 2020)
Open in link: Abstract Submission Form : IPSA RCSCD 2020 WEB CONFERENCE
Organizing committee
Steven Ratuva, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Radomir Compel, Nagasaki University, Japan
Rosalie Hall, University of Philippines Visayas, Philippines
Sérgio Luiz Cruz Aguilar, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Brazil
Jovanie Espesor, Mindanao State University, Philippines
Mohammad Bashir Mobasher, American University of Afghanistan
Hamdy Hassan Attalla, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates
Contact
In case you need further assistance, please contact us at cmplrad<a>gmail.com.
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