A Patchwork of Responses to the Pandemic in Comparison

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global event unlike any other experienced in the contemporary era. Its size, scope, reach, and implications are enormous, ongoing, and unequal. Outcomes — from how people all over the world will live their daily lives to whether democracy will survive — are all in question. This free, 9-week-long lecture series is designed to be a broad survey of many of the themes most of interest to political scientists and public policy experts and is part of an online course Suffolk University is offering this summer to incoming students. Panelists will discuss the differential impact of the pandemic around the world, and the differential responses across nations, comparing countries, regions and states in the context of democracy, populism, public trust, and compliance. To kick things off, Sebastián Royo, Ph.D., an expert on Southern European politics at Suffolk University, sits down with Mahrukh Doctor, Ph.D., an expert on Latin America focusing on Brazil at the University of Hull, and Vivien Schmidt, Ph.D., an expert on European political economy and institutional legitimacy at Boston University. _Image credit: Gina Jano Design_ **WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENTS** Listening assignment: Council on Foreign Relations "Epidemics in World History" https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/epidemics-world-history-frank-m-snowden Readings Weather Conditions & Covid-19 Transmission https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/covid19 “What History Can Teach Us About Building a Fairer Society after Coronavirus” by Richard Sayeed https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/18/history-fairer-society-coronavirus-workers-black-death-spanish-flu Civic Engagement Activity & Reflection Students will be required to engage in at least one civic / political engagement event of their choice during the course of the term and document this with a short reflection essay. The type of event you attend remotely is up to you. It can be a virtual town or city hall meeting with local or state representatives, a meeting of an activist group, etc. The reflection must draw on readings from the class and your own additional research. Members of the public who wish to share their reflections should post a link on Twitter and tag [@ForumNetwork](https://twitter.com/ForumNetwork) and [@supolscilegal](https://twitter.com/supolscilegal).

Vivien Schmidt, Ph.D.

**Vivien Schmidt, Ph.D.** is Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration, Professor of International Relations in the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and Professor of Political Science at Boston University, as well as Founding Director of BU’s Center for the Study of Europe. She received her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College and her Masters and PhD from the University of Chicago. Schmidt’s research focuses on European political economy, institutions, democracy, and political theory—in particular on the importance of ideas and discourse in political analysis (discursive institutionalism). Schmidt is a Visiting Professor at LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome and at the Copenhagen Business School. She has also been a visiting professor or visiting scholar at the Free University of Berlin, the Free University of Brussels, Sciences Po in Paris, the European University Institute, and Oxford University, among others. She is past head of the European Union Studies Association (EUSA) and sits on a number of advisory boards, including the Wissenschaft Zentrum Berlin, the Vienna Institute for Peace, the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (Brussels), and the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute. She has published a dozen books, over 200 scholarly journal articles or chapters in books, and numerous policy briefs and comments, most recently on the Eurozone crisis. Her current work, supported by a Guggenheim fellowship, focuses on the ‘rhetoric of discontent,’ through a transatlantic investigation of the populist revolt against globalization and Europeanization.

Mahrukh Doctor, Ph.D.

**Mahrukh Doctor, Ph.D.** joined the lecturing staff at the University of Hull, England in January 2006 and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She is Director of Learning and Teaching/Education Lead for the Department of Politics (previously the School of Law and Politics). Her main research interests are in the field of international political economy and comparative political economy. Mahrukh has a special interest in development policy, trade and industry, infrastructure (ports), and regionalism in Latin America, with a particular focus on Brazil. She has published on Brazilian business-state relations, Brazilian foreign policy in the context of rising powers, and EU-Mercosur negotiations/relations. Her previous positions include the Johns Hopkins University SAIS-Europe/Bologna Center, the Centre for Brazilian Studies, St. Antony's College at the University of Oxford, University of Reading, and the World Bank. She has also spent time as a visiting academic at the University of Sao Paulo, Federal Fluminense University.

Sebastián Royo, Ph.D.

**Sebastián Royo, Ph.D.** is a professor of Political Science & Legal Studies, and Vice President of International Affairs, at Suffolk University. He is an expert on Southern European politics. Sebastián attended Boston University and received a law degree from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid.

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A Patchwork of Responses to the Pandemic in Comparison

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