-	The Impact of COVID-19 on Peace Operations
-	Advancing the new management paradigm: Management reform in action


References for COVID-19 Impact on Peace Operations

In light of COVID-19, UN had to bring about major changes in how their peace operations were to be done. Some countries like South Sudan have requested that rotation of troops be excluded if they were from high risk countries including China, Italy, South Korea, and Spain. In regards to which operations are to continue during the global pandemic, UN has adopted a system to assess necessity of operations prior to continuing. Some of the necessary operations that UN chose to continue includes protection of civilians, humanitarian assistance, etc. 

Changes to UN projects

UN took previous example in 2010 of cholera outbreak in Haiti and took similar yet advanced precautions during COVID-19. Active employment of 14-day quarantine for newly deployed workers are effective. Additionally, they have limited social contact by serving food as takeout and putting limit on meeting size and number. Most peace operations staff now work remotely if possible and are categorized by location-based vs non-location based in enforcing quarantine measures. 

Social Distancing Policies of UN

Due to global pandemic, UN peace operations met many shortcomings. One limit they faced was number of operations they were able to continue. In effort to limit spread of potential virus, only essential projects were continued, putting a halt to many projects that were necessary. This is projected to affect UN’s goals in the long term. Another limit UN faced was in how they carried out their work. Many meetings were done virtually and work was done from home. However, those who worked in remote regions of the country or in areas of poor internet connections faced challenges. Moreover, due to limit of global travels, deployment to another country has been strictly limited and those who had been deployed abroad are facing challenges in coming back to see their families. Lastly, current pandemic has placed significant complexities in future planning for UN. Budgets have shrunk due to global recession and many countries turning to prioritizing domestic needs instead. Also, the future outlook of foreign deployment is unclear since many countries are showing hostility to foreigners in light of current pandemic.

Negative Impact from COVID-19 on Peace Operations

COVID-19 pandemic has placed UN on many limitations. However, some of the strategies UN chose to adapt may be positive in the long run. One such positive change was ‘delegation of authority’ to heads of the mission. This is enacted to enable faster and more field-oriented decisions in times of crisis. UN’s vision with this reform is to simplify management by giving authority to personnel within the project. Moreover, UN’s responses to COVID-19 pandemic has been quick given its precedent of cholera outbreak in Haiti and will prepare UN for future pandemic.

Positive Impact from COVID-19 on Peace Operations

-	Changes to UN projects
-	Social distancing policies of UN
-	Negative Impact from COVID-19 on peace operations
-	Positive Impact from COVID-19 on peace operations


University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

- Good Leadership Traits to Contain COVID-19 (with examples) 
- Assessing Government Responses to COVID-19 with the Government Response Stringency Index
- Covid-19 Potential Impact on Populist Trends
- Covid-19 Impact on International Civil Rights and Liberties
- Voting during COVID-19 (Electoral Cycle)
- Political Science Terminology
- Covid-19 Impact on International Civil Rights and Liberties
-COVID-19 affecting the Stock Market
- Politics surrounding Vaccines/vaccination

Politics and Government in relation to COVID-19

With over 1 million COVID-19 cases as of June 30th, 2020 (according to WHO), the national governments play a crucial role in controlling the pandemic. Essential keys to good governance during these times include rapid response, good communication, impactful decision making, relying on the public, and working with other nations. 

Good Leadership Traits to Contain COVID-19 (with examples)

- COVID-19 Government Response Stringency Index (GRSI) 

Assessment of Government Responses to COVID-19

- Hong Kong
- Russian Federation
- United States

Covid-19 Impact on International Civil Rights and Liberties

The electoral cycle includes the steps and processes for elections. The pre-electoral period is when voters register, staff are trained, and information starts to gather. The electoral period is when nominations, campaigns, and voting happens. This is also when results of the elections are released. Lastly, the post-electoral period is to review the whole electoral cycle and make strategies.
- Electoral Cycle during COVID-19

Electoral Cycle 

- Populism
- Partisanship
- Categories of False or Misleading Information
- Free and Fair Elections

Political Science Terminology

COVID-19 Impact on Peace Operations

This pandemic has affected the Stock Markets much more than the Spanish Flu did. But, not all countries were impacted the same way. The results included:  shareholders no longer seemed troubled by news of the health crisis, and prices rebounded all around the world, stock markets did not react more strongly in countries more susceptible to the pandemic, either due to structural economic fragility or through exposure to transmission vectors, investors were sensitive to the number of COVID-19 cases in neighboring (but mostly wealthy) countries and finally, credit facilities and government guarantees, lower policy interest rates, and lockdown measures mitigated the decline in stock prices. 

How Has the Stock Market Been Affected by COVID-19

There is doubt about the compliance with vaccine measures once a covid-19 vaccine is approved and available for distribution.  In a poll released by Gallup in early August of 2020, 35% of Americans report that they would not get a “free, FDA-approved Covid-19 vaccine if ready today.”   Historically,  individuals with the same political party identification of the contemporary president have been more likely to vaccinate than presidential out-partisans.   However, this Gallup poll showed Democrats were more than 30% more likely than Republicans to agree to a vaccine in this scenario, despite the fact that there is currently a Republican in the White House.  Although there is not significant research on the matter, this concern among individuals could be realistically attributed to three overlapping categories: Premature approval, politicization, and general mistrust of vaccines.

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