美国政府应对新冠肺炎疫情的决策机制及其困境

美国未能有力遏制新冠肺炎疫情,遭到疫情的沉重打击,与美国政府应对疫情的决策机制及其困境有着密不可分的关系。决策机制在结构上受到政治制度的决定性影响。美国政府应对疫情的决策机制由纵向和横向双重分权制度所决定。纵向上,联邦制决定了各州及地方政府掌握州内疫情应对的决策权,联邦政府则在国际和州际的疫情防控、给各州提供资源支持方面拥有决策权。横向上,分权与制衡使得联邦和各州的立法、行政及司法分支都拥有不同方面和程度的疫情应对决策权。在双重分权的阴影下,美国应对疫情的决策机制困境在于:面对国内的突发性重大危机,联邦制使得应对决策难以"全国一盘棋";分权与制衡使得重大应对决策难以迅速做出,决策司法化突出;双重分权使得决策受到高度制衡,相互嵌套,政党极化加剧,决策机制难以迅速做出有力的、科学的决策。在决策机制困境这一结构性限制下,特朗普政府应对能力欠缺和政党极化加深了美国应对疫情的困境。     

美国卫生安全治理体系及其对新冠肺炎疫情的应对

21世纪初以来,美国已构建起涵盖传染病、食源性疾病、自然灾害、网络安全威胁,以及意外和蓄意释放生物、化学、核放射性物质行为的卫生安全观;建立了旨在维护本国和全球卫生安全的战略体系和法律体系,以及军民协作的国家卫生安全治理体系与机制。虽然有相对成熟的治理体系,美国却未能有效应对新型冠状病毒肺炎的大流行。主要原因在于,特朗普政府的相关决策将党派和个人的政治利益以及短期的经济利益,凌驾于维护本国和全球人民的生命和健康安全利益之上。由于不尊重科学规律和专业意见,不能有效地协调联邦与州政府的责任和行动,持续压缩卫生安全投入,缩减国际责任,转嫁矛盾,导致美国和全球的抗疫努力付出了更多生命、时间和资源代价,并进而对全球的卫生安全治理产生诸多不利影响。     

新冠肺炎疫情下的韩国公共卫生外交研究

自新冠肺炎疫情出现以来,韩国作为最早出现感染病例的国家之一,迅速采取了科学、透明、民主的防疫政策与措施,及时控制住了疫情,一时成了全球各国争相模仿的抗疫典范,树立了 K-防疫模式.韩国政府及社会各界借此机会,在国际社会积极开展公共卫生外交,提高了国家软实力,大大提升了其国际形象.具体来说,在新冠肺炎疫情下,韩国采取了与周边国家及国际社会联合抗疫的公共卫生合作措施,向国际社会提供防疫物资与技术,实行宽松、温和、人道的出入境管理等措施,疫情下的韩国公共卫生外交体现了韩式特点,除与国际社会在传统物理外交空间加强合作外,还积极利用智能技术拓展数字外交空间,利用文化价值因素构建对外话语体系.同时,韩国积极促进公共卫生外交主体的多元化与全民化,体现了双向、互动、合作的新特点.     

新冠疫情对日本社会的影响——兼谈“后新冠”时代日本社会的走向

新冠肺炎疫情对世界构成二战结束以来的最大挑战,其影响已远远超过疫情本身。自2020年2月新冠肺炎疫情在日本蔓延以来,给日本的经济、社会带来诸多影响。疫情催生出新的工作方式;凸显教育领域信息通讯技术滞后;疫情对低收入群体冲击较大;两性关系再遇挑战;人际交往"无缘化"程度加深。新冠肺炎疫情像一面放大镜,将日本潜在的社会问题一一凸显出来,同时,疫情又像一个加速器,加快了日本社会变迁的步伐。"后新冠"时代的日本社会似乎已很难回到从前,那么,日本社会又将何去何从?     

新冠肺炎疫情时期中美在全球卫生安全中的权力变更

随着新冠肺炎疫情在全球范围的不断蔓延,中国对外多形式、多层次的医疗援助与物资供应维护了众多国家的卫生安全.中美两国在维护全球卫生安全上显现出实力要素构成比例失调下的权力变更.由于中国在中低端医疗产业链上具有相对优势,其在抗疫过程中所展现的政府有效性更进一步放大了中国在维护全球公共安全领域的短期领先地位.在中美结构性冲突的大背景下,权力变更正在改变涉及核心利益低阶政治领域的权力可让渡性,并激发守成国(美国)采取一系列旨在维持自身优势的预防性行为,客观形成对崛起国(中国)的遏制.不同于传统的权力转移,政府为主所引导的权力变更能否稳固,依然存在可替代性、短期性、可逆性三种风险,这种权力变更也进一步加剧中美两国在权力转移过程中的安全困境.     

新冠肺炎疫情与美国对华战略竞争的深化

新冠肺炎疫情对世界和中美两国带来显著冲击,并在很大程度上致使美国对华战略竞争更趋深化。特朗普政府利用疫情因素进一步推动在华西方企业从中国撤出,以构建"经济繁荣网络"为抓手,以实现全球经贸体系与中国的深度剥离为目标,打造排斥中国的国际经贸阵营。疫情凸显先进技术对维护国家安全和经济竞争力的重要性,美国通过强化技术出口管制、调整国内技术研发布局、完善"敏感技术多边行动"机制、打造"同盟创新基础"等方式强化对华"技术冷战"。美方诬称中国借助疫情与其争夺"全球领导权",大力拉拢欧洲等盟友和伙伴国构建压制中国的国际统一阵线,并力图削弱中国在国际组织和全球治理中的影响力。特朗普政府和美国政界人士炒作"中国病毒""中国责任"等恶意论调,对华展开"叙事之战",对中国政治体制进行攻击并将矛头日益对准中国共产党,不断激化意识形态层面的分歧和对立。美国利用疫情因素深化对华战略竞争、激化大国冲突对抗的做法受到批评,中国需着眼长远利益、保持战略定力,妥善应对疫情给中美关系带来的深刻冲击。     

新冠疫情对中日韩价值链的影响

2020年初暴发的新冠疫情给世界经济造成了不可低估的损失,全球价值链受到巨大冲击,流通受阻、贸易萎缩、价值链一度濒临断裂,中日韩价值链也不例外。疫情下,中国、日本、韩国为实现价值链重组,从政策与导向、供给与需求、贸易与流通等方面实施了多项策略。中日韩三国采取的应对措施有利于完善其国内价值链,促进价值链技术革新,加深中日韩价值链的区域化程度,但也不可排除存在割裂原有价值链的风险。后疫情时代,中日韩三国应携手抗疫,深化合作,共同提升价值链抗压能力,快速推进价值链数字化建设,最终实现中日韩价值链重组并带动区域乃至世界经济增长。     

新冠疫情影响下的东南亚经济

突然爆发的新冠疫情打破了东南亚持续向上的经济走势,给东南亚经济发展带来了较大的不确定性.疫情不仅使东南亚经济遭受重创,也加速了东南亚经济的发展转型,使其呈现出一些新的发展趋势.具体表现在如下几个方面:疫情助推了东南亚数字经济的发展与转型;疫情下全球产业链的分散与重组为东南亚地区经济发展提供了新机遇,东盟新四国将继续保持较好的发展势头;东南亚各国企业转型升级加速并出现新趋势;东南亚区域经济一体化进程明显加快.在众多内外部因素的影响与制约下,东南亚经济也将面临增长放缓的压力和各种区域问题的挑战.东南亚经济发展的新态势将对中国—东盟经贸关系、中国对外战略以及亚太地区的地缘政治格局产生直接而深远的影响.     

新冠疫情危机下欧盟团结规范的实践及其驱动力研究

团结是欧盟赖以建立的基本价值规范之一.新冠疫情在欧洲迅速扩散的初期,欧盟及其成员国未能及时协调政策、采取团结一致的措施应对疫情,导致欧盟的声誉严重受损,欧盟团结缺失成为媒体和学界谈论的热门话题.但是,欧盟及其成员国很快调整了应对疫情的策略,超越单纯的"外交辞令",展开了一系列"事实上的团结"行动,并取得一定成效.本文旨...     

Necropolitics in the Jungle: COVID-19 and the Marginalisation of Brazil's Forest Peoples

COVID-19 has been particularly damaging to already vulnerable social groups, such as forest peoples. In Brazil, indigenous, Afro-Brazilian quilombolas and other racialised communities have suffered disproportionately under Bolsonaro's hands-off policy during the pandemic. We argue that, far from happenstance, this policy fits into a form of necropolitics towards forest peoples. Drawing from Achille Mbembe's seminal work, this article analyses how underlying (and sometimes overt) racism, cultural depredation, and government-supported deforestation constitute an assault now catalysed by the pandemic. Understanding forest peoples' disproportionate deaths in perspective is critical for addressing their growing vulnerability and the broader politics currently at play.     

Health Risks for Poultry Workers in Brazil in the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article discusses labour relations in the poultry industry in Brazil in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the meat production and processing industries there have been many complaints about abusive practices that put workers' health at risk. In several small cities across the country, slaughterhouses already act as pandemic contagion risk hotspots. We present an overview of the demeaning treatment of workers and the risks to public health associated with Brazil's poultry industry.     

COVID-19 Pandemic and Social Unrest: The Social Protest by Other Means. Reflections on the Argentinian Case

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world have implemented exceptional measures aimed at restricting people's mobility or banning public spaces used, among other things, for protest, thus causing the expected regressive effects in the socioeconomic sphere. What happens with social protest when the public space is banned? Does it stop, is it displaced, does it occur in any other form? In this article we present a map of protest in Argentina since the beginning of the pandemic. We conclude that the levels of participation remain high and that, given the features of the protest itself, its claims may be channelled into the institutions.     

Filling in the Gaps: The Transnational Administration of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Peru

Diverse sources have constructed a common narrative of individual and isolated responses by countries and their leaders to the global coronavirus pandemic, akin to sálvese quien pueda (every man for himself). This article suggests that this is a simplification of the governance of the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru. Peru's governance story is one of domestic public and private action closely interwoven with crucial elements of transnational administration out of sheer necessity. The struggle against the pandemic has generated a domestic and transnational administrative symbiosis, involving authorities at multiple levels in efforts to fill a series of interconnected domestic, regional, and global governance gaps.     

Vulnerable Women in a Pandemic: Paid Domestic Workers and COVID-19 in Peru

Paid domestic workers (PDWs) in Peru, who are predominantly women, are one of the most vulnerable labour sectors in the country. We argue that an important factor explaining this is linked to national legislation that grants only partial rights to the sector, thus maintaining inferior labour conditions for such workers. Here we share our analysis of a survey of 314 PDWs, conducted between April and May 2020, confirming that PDWs in Peru are highly unprotected, particularly during the COVID pandemic, in which there has been a lack of comprehensive social protection schemes.     

Structural and Contingent Inequalities: The Impact of COVID-19 on Migrant and Refugee Populations in South America

In a comparative assessment of the pre-pandemic living conditions of migrants and refugees in six South American countries, we analyse the structural and contingent challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on these populations. We argue that they are particularly exposed to the harmful effects of the pandemic, given their segmented incorporation into labour markets and their limited and fragmented access to and exercise of health, housing, and other social rights. The evidence points to a significant deterioration in their livelihoods and social inclusion, and potential profound changes in (im)mobility regimes caused by pandemic-induced restrictive measures.     

The Experience of Women Regarding Chilean Government Measures during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study explores the experience of ten possible beneficiaries of the measures provided by the Chilean government during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic through remote semi-structured interviews. The results show a scenario of improvisation. Instead of relying on solid gender equity policies, a patchwork of focused measures was implemented, which increased uncertainty and vulnerability. As a result, women experienced sorrow and despair while facing economic constraints and care tasks mostly on their own. This article shows that care remains invisible in politics while overwhelmingly evident at home. Social care policies are urgently needed.     

COVID-19 and the Limitations of Official Responses to Gender-Based Violence in Latin America: Evidence from Ecuador

As the COVID-19 lockdowns were implemented, Latin American countries raced to announce plans to address gender-based violence in response to the increase in reports of intrafamily abuse. However, states' interventions had limited results. This article explores the Ecuadorian case. The Andean country's emergency strategy was based on reporting violence via the 911 emergency number, a plan that failed to consider that women quarantined with their aggressors would not have the opportunity to make the call. This article lays bare the extent of the gap between policy and practice in gender mainstreaming and the acute consequences of this during the pandemic.     

Organised Crime Governance in Times of Pandemic: The Impact of COVID-19 on Gangs and Drug Cartels in Colombia and Mexico

The COVID-19 crisis provides a window of opportunity for organised crime organisations in Colombia and Mexico to exert social control in local communities through actions of solidarity and care rather than traditional violent coercion. This new dynamic is increasing the legitimacy, power and social capital of gangs and drug cartels, helping them to co-opt civil society and the state to support their criminal operations. The pandemic also shows how poverty and inequality remain fundamental in shaping the building of the nation-state in both countries, where criminals act as a de facto state even without the virus and, in many areas, effectively replace the state. The coronavirus is making visible the ways in which organised crime groups cultivate civil society's support in delivering the provision of governance, order and public health in a time of lockdown and quarantine, making local ‘narco-gang’ governance profitable economically and politically.