The World After Covid
A project exploring the rapid shifts in the United States' role in the world since the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic
Phase 1, June-July 2020
About "The World After Covid"
The eruption of Covid-19 in early 2020 and the many consequences of this pandemic have shaken to its core the international system that humankind has known since 1945. This has opened the way for great risks but also for many exciting new possibilities to build a more just and sustainable world.
In the first phase of this project in June-July 2020, JWE President and former Christian Science Monitor columnist Helena Cobban held weekly webinars with a range of guests who have thought deeply about the United States’ role in the world and the effects Covid-19 has started to have on the global balance. The videos of these webinars can be viewed below, along with the transcripts and some related materials. Ms. Cobban's guests were:
- Veteran human rights activist, jurist (and JWE board member) Prof. Richard Falk
- Co-founder of the women-led peace group CODEPINK, Medea Benjamin
- Veteran activist for labor rights, decolonization, and racial justice Bill Fletcher, Jr.
- Director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, Vijay Prashad
- Veteran US diplomatist and U.S.-China expert, Amb. Chas W. Freeman, Jr.
- Former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Prof. Hilal Elver
- Professor emeritus and past president of the National Lawyers Guild, Marjorie Cohn
- Veteran UN diplomat Hans-Christof von Sponeck and jurist Prof. Richard Falk
These materials are published here under a Creative Commons license, which means you are free to re-use any of them for non-commercial purposes, provided you give due attribution to Just World Educational and the individual speakers. If you want to use any of these materials for commercial purposes, please contact Rights@justworldeducational.org to ask about terms.
Check back soon to learn about the further directions this project will take in Fall 2020!
Videos of the World After Covid webinar series
"The World After Covid" with Richard Falk
Session 1, June 10, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with JWE Board Member Prof. Richard Falk, a world-renowned expert on international law who spent six years, 2008-14 as the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of the Palestinians of the Occupied Territories.
Read the transcript: Prof. Richard Falk and Helena Cobban, June 10, 2020
Session Resources
"The World After Covid" with Medea Benjamin
Session 2, June 17, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of both the women-led peace group CODEPINK and the human rights group Global Exchange. Benjamin is the author of numerous articles and ten books, including Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control and Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection.
Read the transcript: Medea Benjamin and Helena Cobban, June 17, 2020
Session Resources
"The World After Covid" with Bill Fletcher, Jr.
Session 3, June 24, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with Bill Fletcher, Jr., a veteran activist for labor rights, decolonization, and racial justice and the former president of TransAfrica Forum. He is a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies and in the leadership of several other projects. Fletcher is a widely syndicated columnist and a regular media commentator.
Read the transcript: Bill Fletcher, Jr. and Helena Cobban, June 24, 2020
Session Resources
"The World After Covid" with Vijay Prashad
Session 4, July 1, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with Vijay Prashad, the Chief Editor of LeftWord Books, the Director of (Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research), and the Chief Correspondent for Globetrotter ). Prashad is the author of thirty books, including The Darker Nations, The Poorer Nations, Red Star Over the Third World, and Karma of Brown Folk. His newest book, Washington Bullets, which has a Preface by President Evo Morales Ayma, will be released by LeftWord Books on July 8.
Read the transcript: Vijay Prashad and Helena Cobban, July 1, 2020
Session Resources
"The World After Covid" with Amb. Chas W. Freeman, Jr.
Session 5, July 8, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with Amb. Chas W. Freeman, Jr. A veteran American diplomat, Freeman’s career highlights included being the interpreter for Pres. Nixon during his breakthrough 1972 visit to China; negotiating (in Spanish) with Pres. Fidel Castro over the parallel Cuban and South African withdrawals from Angola; serving as U.S. Ambassador to Riyadh during Operation Desert Storm; and being nixed from consideration as Pres. Obama’s Director of National Intelligence on account of his support for Palestinian rights. Freeman’s books include Interesting Times: China, America, and the Shifting Balance of Prestige (Just World Books, 2012.)
Read the transcript: Amb. Chas W. Freeman, Jr. and Helena Cobban, July 8, 2020
Session Resources
"The World After Covid" with Hilal Elver
Session 6, July 15, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with Prof. Hilal Elver, who served from 2014 through April 2020 as the U.N.’s Special Representative on the Right to Food, with a 7-part mandate described here. A professor of international law, she is a Global Distinguished Fellow at the UCLA Law School Resnick Food Law and Policy Center and a research professor at UC Santa Barbara. Previously she held the UNEP Chair on Environmental Diplomacy at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta; and taught at the University of Ankara, Faculty of Law. She has served the Turkish government in various capacities, including as a member of Turkey’s team at the Climate Change negotiations. Her publications focus on environmental law, climate change, food security, human rights and women's rights.
Read the transcript: Hilal Elver and Helena Cobban, July 15, 2020
Session Resources
"The World After Covid" with Marjorie Cohn
Session 7, July 22, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with Marjorie Cohn, a professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law where she taught from 1991-2016, and a former president of the National Lawyers Guild. Cohn currently lectures, writes, and provides commentary for local, regional, national and international media outlets. She is the author of Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law and co-author of Cameras in the Courtroom: Television and the Pursuit of Justice and Rules of Disengagement: The Politics and Honor of Military Dissent. She has edited (and also contributed to) anthologies on the United States and torture and the ethical and political issues around the use of military drones.
Read the transcript: Marjorie Cohn and Helena Cobban, July 22, 2020
Session Resources
"The World After Covid" with Hans von Sponeck and Richard Falk
Session 8, July 29, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with Hans-Christof von Sponeck and Richard Falk. Hans von Sponeck was one of the first conscientious objectors in the Federal Republic of Germany. He had a distinguished career in the United Nations, serving as a U.N. Assistant Secretary-General and U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq– until he resigned from that position in 2000 to protest against the US-led sanctions policies of the UN Security Council. He currently teaches at the Conflict Research Center of the University of Marburg.
Prof. Richard Falk is a world-renowned expert on international law who spent six years, 2008-14, as the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of the Palestinians of the Occupied Territories. (We are also proud that Falk is a member of the Just World Ed board.)
Read the transcript: Hans von Sponeck, Richard Falk and Helena Cobban, July 29, 2020
Session Resources
Participants in "The World After Covid"
Prof. Richard Falk
Medea Benjamin
Bill Fletcher, Jr.
Helena Cobban
Vijay Prashad
Amb. Chas Freeman, Jr.
Hilal Elver
Marjorie Cohn
Hans-Christof von Sponeck
Overall Resources
Transcripts
Read the full transcripts of each session of "The World After Covid," below:
- Prof. Richard Falk and Helena Cobban, June 10, 2020
- Medea Benjamin and Helena Cobban, June 17, 2020
- Bill Fletcher, Jr. and Helena Cobban, June 24, 2020
- Vijay Prashad and Helena Cobban, July 1, 2020
- Amb. Chas W. Freeman, Jr. and Helena Cobban, July 8, 2020
- Hilal Elver and Helena Cobban, July 15, 2020
- Marjorie Cohn and Helena Cobban, July 22, 2020
- Hans von Sponeck, Richard Falk and Helena Cobban, July 29, 2020
Support Just World Educational
JWE has a golden opportunity to make a difference in this country...
Stay in touch! Sign up for our newsletter:
The World After Covid
A project exploring the rapid shifts in the United States’ role in the world since the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic
Phase 1, June-July 2020
WEBINAR VIDEOS
TRANSCRIPTS
GUEST BIOS
RESOURCES
About “The World After Covid”
The eruption of Covid-19 in early 2020 and the many consequences of this pandemic have shaken to its core the international system that humankind has known since 1945. This has opened the way for great risks but also for many exciting new possibilities to build a more just and sustainable world.
In the first phase of this project in June-July 2020, JWE President and former Christian Science Monitor columnist Helena Cobban held weekly webinars with a range of guests who have thought deeply about the United States’ role in the world and the effects Covid-19 has started to have on the global balance. The videos of these webinars can be viewed below, along with the transcripts and some related materials. Ms. Cobban’s guests were:
Veteran human rights activist, jurist (and JWE board member) Prof. Richard Falk
Co-founder of the women-led peace group CODEPINK, Medea Benjamin
Veteran activist for labor rights, decolonization, and racial justice Bill Fletcher, Jr.
Director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, Vijay Prashad
Veteran US diplomatist and U.S.-China expert, Amb. Chas W. Freeman, Jr.
Former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Prof. Hilal Elver
Professor emeritus and past president of the National Lawyers Guild, Marjorie Cohn
Veteran UN diplomat Hans-Christof von Sponeck and jurist Prof. Richard Falk
These materials are published here under a Creative Commons license, which means you are free to re-use any of them for non-commercial purposes, provided you give due attribution to Just World Educational and the individual speakers. If you want to use any of these materials for commercial purposes, please contact Rights@justworldeducational.org to ask about terms.
Check back soon to learn about the further directions this project will take in Fall 2020!
Videos of the World After Covid webinar series
“The World After Covid” with Richard FalkSession 1, June 10, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with JWE Board Member Prof. Richard Falk, a world-renowned expert on international law who spent six years, 2008-14 as the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of the Palestinians of the Occupied Territories.
Read the transcript: Prof. Richard Falk and Helena Cobban, June 10, 2020
Session Resources
▸ Discussion with Richard Falk
Here are just a few of the important educational resources provided during this session:
Helena Cobban’s writings in the Covid Chronicles series
Richard Falk’s blog
CNN’s coronavirus update
George Packer on the hollowness of U.S. institutions
“The World After Covid” with Medea BenjaminSession 2, June 17, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of both the women-led peace group CODEPINK and the human rights group Global Exchange. Benjamin is the author of numerous articles and ten books, including Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control and Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection.
Read the transcript: Medea Benjamin and Helena Cobban, June 17, 2020
Session Resources
▸ Discussion with Medea Benjamin
CODEPINK
The Poor People’s Moral Budget
Divest from the War Machine Campaign
Nobel Peace Prize for Cuban Doctors campaign
U.S. Military Budget comparisons:
“The World After Covid” with Bill Fletcher, Jr.Session 3, June 24, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with Bill Fletcher, Jr., a veteran activist for labor rights, decolonization, and racial justice and the former president of TransAfrica Forum. He is a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies and in the leadership of several other projects. Fletcher is a widely syndicated columnist and a regular media commentator.
Read the transcript: Bill Fletcher, Jr. and Helena Cobban, June 24, 2020
Session Resources
▸ Discussion with Bill Fletcher, Jr.
Bill Fletcher’s 2010 take on W.E.B. DuBois’ Souls of White Folk
W. E. B. DuBois’ Souls of White Folk: Original Text (published in 1920)
Local news reporting on the pulling down of Edward Colston statue in Bristol, UK
Roundup of global Black Lives Matter protests
DW report on Black Lives Matter protests in France
World roundup of international BLM movement
Nice photo-essay of S. Africa’s transition from apartheid
Hugh Thomas’ iconic 1999 book, “The Slave Trade”
“The World After Covid” with Vijay PrashadSession 4, July 1, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with Vijay Prashad, the Chief Editor of LeftWord Books, the Director of (Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research), and the Chief Correspondent for Globetrotter ). Prashad is the author of thirty books, including The Darker Nations, The Poorer Nations, Red Star Over the Third World, and Karma of Brown Folk. His newest book, Washington Bullets, which has a Preface by President Evo Morales Ayma, will be released by LeftWord Books on July 8.
Read the transcript: Vijay Prashad and Helena Cobban, July 1, 2020
Session Resources
▸ Discussion with Vijay Prashad
Vijay Prashad’s June 1 interview on ‘Coronashock’
Tricontinental’s Ten-point Agenda for the Global South After Covid (June 18)
Health is a Political Choice (from South Africa.)
China and Coronashock, by Vijay Prashad
Anti-imperialist poster exhibition
Declaration of the International People’s Assembly: in support of the Palestinian people
“The World After Covid” with Amb. Chas W. Freeman, Jr.Session 5, July 8, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with Amb. Chas W. Freeman, Jr. A veteran American diplomat, Freeman’s career highlights included being the interpreter for Pres. Nixon during his breakthrough 1972 visit to China; negotiating (in Spanish) with Pres. Fidel Castro over the parallel Cuban and South African withdrawals from Angola; serving as U.S. Ambassador to Riyadh during Operation Desert Storm; and being nixed from consideration as Pres. Obama’s Director of National Intelligence on account of his support for Palestinian rights. Freeman’s books include Interesting Times: China, America, and the Shifting Balance of Prestige (Just World Books, 2012.)
Read the transcript: Amb. Chas W. Freeman, Jr. and Helena Cobban, July 8, 2020
Session Resources
▸ Discussion with Amb. Chas W. Freeman, Jr.
Chas Freeman, America in Distress: The Challenges of Disadvantageous Change
Amb. Freeman’s recent speeches
Freeman’s 2012 book “Interesting Times: China, America, and the Shifting Balance of Prestige”
Freeman’s 2016 book “America’s Continuing Misadventures in the Middle East”
Chas W. Freeman, The U.S. and A Resurgent Asia
Remarks to Harvard China Forum, 5-7-2020
The Global Political Outlook (delivered to Saudi Aramco management trainees), June 15, 2020
“The World After Covid” with Hilal ElverSession 6, July 15, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with Prof. Hilal Elver, who served from 2014 through April 2020 as the U.N.’s Special Representative on the Right to Food, with a 7-part mandate described here. A professor of international law, she is a Global Distinguished Fellow at the UCLA Law School Resnick Food Law and Policy Center and a research professor at UC Santa Barbara. Previously she held the UNEP Chair on Environmental Diplomacy at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta; and taught at the University of Ankara, Faculty of Law. She has served the Turkish government in various capacities, including as a member of Turkey’s team at the Climate Change negotiations. Her publications focus on environmental law, climate change, food security, human rights and women’s rights.
Read the transcript: Hilal Elver and Helena Cobban, July 15, 2020
Session Resources
▸ Discussion with Hilal Elver
Mandate for the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
Website for “The Right to Food”
Hilal Elver’s portal to articles about food security & Covid
Full text of Hilal Elver’s final report as UNSR, March 2020
Interpress Services portal to articles about Food & Covid
Coronavirus and hunger, report by World Food Program
“Prepare food systems for a long-haul fight against Covid-19”, blog-post by FAO Chief economist
Oxfam America publication warns that 12,000/day couild die from Covid-related hunger by end of year
Tricontinental newsletter on hunger, with 10-point program (May 14)
Interpress/Barilla article on Food & Covid
International Food Policy Research Institute blog portal
IMF blog post on need for sustainable food systems
Environmental Working Group (US)’s “Ag Mag”, tracks effects of US agricultural subsidies
Good portal to basic facts about US agricultural subsidies
Lawsuit regarding food workers in the U.S.
Graphic by Maximo Torero, the Chief Economist and Assistant Director General for Economic and Social Development at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, on structural vulnerability and food insecurity:
“The World After Covid” with Marjorie CohnSession 7, July 22, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with Marjorie Cohn, a professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law where she taught from 1991-2016, and a former president of the National Lawyers Guild. Cohn currently lectures, writes, and provides commentary for local, regional, national and international media outlets. She is the author of Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law and co-author of Cameras in the Courtroom: Television and the Pursuit of Justice and Rules of Disengagement: The Politics and Honor of Military Dissent. She has edited (and also contributed to) anthologies on the United States and torture and the ethical and political issues around the use of military drones.
Read the transcript: Marjorie Cohn and Helena Cobban, July 22, 2020
Session Resources
▸ Discussion with Marjorie Cohn
Marjorie Cohn article on U.S., Israel and the International Criminal Court
Marjorie Cohn’s article on the U.S., Iran, China and the effects of sanctions
Definition of the Crime of Aggression
Marjorie Cohn’s article on the U.S. aiding and abetting Israeli atrocities
Wikipedia page on the status of parties to the ICC’s Rome Statute
“The World After Covid” with Hans von Sponeck and Richard FalkSession 8, July 29, 2020
JWE President Helena Cobban in conversation with Hans-Christof von Sponeck and Richard Falk. Hans von Sponeck was one of the first conscientious objectors in the Federal Republic of Germany. He had a distinguished career in the United Nations, serving as a U.N. Assistant Secretary-General and U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq– until he resigned from that position in 2000 to protest against the US-led sanctions policies of the UN Security Council. He currently teaches at the Conflict Research Center of the University of Marburg.
Prof. Richard Falk is a world-renowned expert on international law who spent six years, 2008-14, as the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of the Palestinians of the Occupied Territories. (We are also proud that Falk is a member of the Just World Ed board.)
Read the transcript: Hans von Sponeck, Richard Falk and Helena Cobban, July 29, 2020
Session Resources
▸ Discussion with Hans von Sponeck and Richard Falk
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speech on Mandela Day, July 18 (video)
Official UN history of its founding (multimedia)
Figures on global economic power, mid-2000s
NYT op-ed on need to decolonize
Caribbean Reparations Plan website
Richard Falk’s blog
Helena Cobban’s blog
UN budget in perspective:
Graphic of the United Nations system:
Participants in “The World After Covid”
Prof. Richard Falk
BIO
Medea Benjamin
BIO
Bill Fletcher, Jr.
BIO
Helena Cobban
BIO
Vijay Prashad
BIO
Amb. Chas Freeman, Jr.
BIO
Hilal Elver
BIO
Marjorie Cohn
BIO
Hans-Christof von Sponeck
BIO
Overall Resources
▸ Covid-19 and the Global Balance
Helena Cobban’s writings in the Covid Chronicles series
Richard Falk’s blog
George Packer on the hollowness of U.S. institutions
Nobel Peace Prize for Cuban Doctors campaign
World roundup of international BLM movement
Vijay Prashad’s June 1 interview on ‘Coronashock’
China and Coronashock, by Vijay Prashad
Freeman’s 2012 book “Interesting Times: China, America, and the Shifting Balance of Prestige”
Chas W. Freeman, The U.S. and A Resurgent Asia
Remarks to Harvard China Forum, 5-7-2020
The Global Political Outlook (delivered to Saudi Aramco management trainees), June 15, 2020
Marjorie Cohn’s article on the U.S., Iran, China and the effects of sanctions
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speech on Mandela Day, July 18 (video)
Official UN history of its founding (multimedia)
Figures on global economic power, mid-2000s
▸ Covid-19, the U.S. Economy and the Military
The Poor People’s Moral Budget
Divest from the War Machine Campaign
CNN’s coronavirus update
Chas Freeman, America in Distress: The Challenges of Disadvantageous Change
U.S. Military Budget comparisons:
▸ Covid-19 and Racial Justice
Bill Fletcher’s 2010 take on W.E.B. DuBois’ Souls of White Folk
W. E. B. DuBois’ Souls of White Folk: Original Text (published in 1920)
Local news reporting on the pulling down of Edward Colston statue in Bristol, UK
Roundup of global Black Lives Matter protests
DW report on Black Lives Matter protests in France
World roundup of international BLM movement
Nice photo-essay of S. Africa’s transition from apartheid
Hugh Thomas’ iconic 1999 book, “The Slave Trade”
NYT op-ed on need to decolonize
Caribbean Reparations Plan website
▸ Covid-19, Imperialism and the Global South
Vijay Prashad’s June 1 interview on ‘Coronashock’
Tricontinental’s Ten-point Agenda for the Global South After Covid (June 18)
Health is a Political Choice (from South Africa.)
China and Coronashock, by Vijay Prashad
Anti-imperialist poster exhibition
Declaration of the International People’s Assembly: in support of the Palestinian people
Nobel Peace Prize for Cuban Doctors campaign
Chas W. Freeman’s 2016 book “America’s Continuing Misadventures in the Middle East”
The Global Political Outlook (delivered to Saudi Aramco management trainees), June 15, 2020
Marjorie Cohn article on U.S., Israel and the International Criminal Court
NYT op-ed on need to decolonize
Caribbean Reparations Plan website
▸ Covid-19, Hunger and Food Security
Website for “The Right to Food”
Hilal Elver’s portal to articles about food security & Covid
Full text of Hilal Elver’s final report as UNSR, March 2020
Interpress Services portal to articles about Food & Covid
Coronavirus and hunger, report by World Food Program
“Prepare food systems for a long-haul fight against Covid-19”, blog-post by FAO Chief economist
Oxfam America publication warns that 12,000/day couild die from Covid-related hunger by end of year
Tricontinental newsletter on hunger, with 10-point program (May 14)
Interpress/Barilla article on Food & Covid
International Food Policy Research Institute blog portal
IMF blog post on need for sustainable food systems
Environmental Working Group (US)’s “Ag Mag”, tracks effects of US agricultural subsidies
Good portal to basic facts about US agricultural subsidies
Lawsuit regarding food workers in the U.S.
Graphic by Maximo Torero, the Chief Economist and Assistant Director General for Economic and Social Development at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, on structural vulnerability and food insecurity:
▸ Covid-19 and International Justice
Marjorie Cohn article on U.S., Israel and the International Criminal Court
Marjorie Cohn’s article on the U.S., Iran, China and the effects of sanctions
Definition of the Crime of Aggression
Marjorie Cohn’s article on the U.S. aiding and abetting Israeli atrocities
Wikipedia page on the status of parties to the ICC’s Rome Statute
Richard Falk’s blog
Helena Cobban’s blog
Transcripts
Read the full transcripts of each session of “The World After Covid,” below:
Prof. Richard Falk and Helena Cobban, June 10, 2020
Medea Benjamin and Helena Cobban, June 17, 2020
Bill Fletcher, Jr. and Helena Cobban, June 24, 2020
Vijay Prashad and Helena Cobban, July 1, 2020
Amb. Chas W. Freeman, Jr. and Helena Cobban, July 8, 2020
Hilal Elver and Helena Cobban, July 15, 2020
Marjorie Cohn and Helena Cobban, July 22, 2020
Hans von Sponeck, Richard Falk and Helena Cobban, July 29, 2020
Support Just World Educational
If you find this project worthwhile, engaging, and useful, please consider supporting our mission. We strive to expand the dialogue on vital international issues by providing educational materials and a platform for critical thinkers.
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JWE has a golden opportunity to make a difference in this country… Richard Falk
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