PANDEMIC AND POPULISM-RESPONSES AND REACTIONS

The Department of International Studies, Political Science and History along with Media Studies, Economics, English, Sociology and Psychology departments at Christ (Deemed to be University) had hosted a webinar on Pandemic and Populism- Responses and Reactions with the following renowned speakers- Prof Daya K Thussu, Ph.D. Prof. of International Communication, Hong Kong, Baptist University; Dr Konstantinos D Karatzas, PhD. Prof. History, Global Institute for Research, Education and Scholarship (GIRES), Amsterdam/Athens; Dr Mario Vaz, PhD. Prof and Head, Division of Health and Humanities, Department of Physiology, St. John’s Medical College, Dr Kshitij Urs, PhD. Adjunct Prof of Public Policy, NLSIU; Dr Pawel Stachura, Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland; Prof Michael Dreyer, University of Jena; Prof Roger Porter, Reed College, Portland, Oregon; Prof Rajiv Gowda, PhD. Prof at IIM, Member of Parliament and Spokesperson of INC moderated by Prof John Dean, PhD. Prof. of American Studies, The Catholic University of Paris, France. Dr Fr Jose CC, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Dr Madhumati Deshpande, Dr Vagishwari S P, Dr Manoharan N, Dr Anurag Tripathi, Dr N Koiremba Singh, Dr Vineeth Thomas, Dr Barnali Chanda, Dr Stefy V Joseph, Dr Gerald Rassendaran, Dr Naresh Rao and Dr Shobhana Mathews also attended the webinar.

Dr Madhumati Deshpande gave the Welcome address where the Professor welcomed the speakers and the attendees of the webinar. The professor added that this webinar was a stimulus to the construction and publication of the book titled as New Populism and Reaction by Springer Publications. Dr Fr Jose CC gave the Inaugural speech where Father congratulated for the endless efforts showcased and encouraged the students of Christ (Deemed to be University) to use such opportunities showcased at these platforms to build their knowledge, skills, positive attitude which would equip oneself towards superfeit learning.

Introduction- Moderator: Prof John Dean

Dr John Dean presented the audience with the outline for the webinar. The professor stated the meaning of Populism which is a social, cultural, political philosophy that supports the rights and power of ordinary people in their struggle against the privileged elite. It is thin on ideology and fat on emotions. Strategically situated historically it refers to the specific politics of the US populist party which flourished in America at the very end. Further, the professor deconstructed the meaning of Populism in 19^th century which was based on agrarian complaints against the big business houses. First it was named as a form of politics and a way of life based on agrarian identity and problems with big business. The professor quoted Susan Sontag, 1964 where she threw light on- “Many things, even if they have been named, have never been described” which highlights the origin of populism. Populism existed in all shades, all places of political spectrum. Either it was left, right or centre, communitarian or contrarian, inclusive or exclusive. It is primarily based on Marxian Ideology- Solidarity Communism of “Haves” versus the “Have’s Not”, for example- USA: Bernie Sanders on the left and Donald Trump on right. In the context of Populism and COVID-19 which has made it a unifying factor against this deadly pandemic, the professor gave importance that each one must remember and nourish how our COVID-19 crisis has shown many instances on how people in all nations work together and sacrifice for the common good. It is necessary to have it as world populism promises to remain and renew its intensity due to vigorous peaks and throughs, lack of a vaccine and deleterious effects on social cohesion. The longer it persists, the more the COVID-19 crisis is like to either feed the power of special interests’ groups and foster greater human solidarity. It is of a particular concern as such pandemics debilitating effect of most nations-middle- and low-income groups such as US- Black, Browns, poor Whites and immigrants. The minorities, religious or racial groups and intellectuals can be negatively affected as scapegoats or as cannon fodder used to stoke conspiracy fears. Populism can create an opening, a vacuum, weakness in traditional powers that populist will like try to occupy. Populism encourages the I-am-the-only-one solution of desperate demagoguery. Hence, COVID-19 is a crisis and not a war. The professor further explained that Populism can aggravate Ageism in all groups and levels specially in the Western Nations where it highlights vulnerability, fatality, care and money needs for the aged more than the young or middle-aged. Populism pseudoscience feeds denialism and the ranging pandemic can have devastating and lasting social and cultural results which can imprint a negative legacy. To see the immediate future, nations are more likely to draw inward, ethnocentrism and give importance of that of national sovereignty would see a trendy increase. To sum up, Populism is a public court of last resort accentuated by events that traditional politics cannot deal with. It is a kind of non-party party occasioned by events that traditional politics; institutional structures cannot deal with. Hence COVID-19 is GLOBAL and not local as it has worldwide spread and vision yet a local base. While many problems are universal, their local expressions and solutions in this case are not. To conclude, the professor viewed populism which is an explosive, dangerous yet necessary tool we need to understand in our own global and local times and places.

Cultural and Community Responses- Dr Mario Vaz

            Dr Madhumati Deshpande welcomed Dr Mario Vaz to provide his insights which is as follows- As the issues rise with the course of the pandemic where there is very less immunity and prior exposure to it before the lockdown has led to the massive spread in all directions. With the nature evolving and being inundated by the potential cures, the game changes with either adhering to a new arena of repository of old or new medical treatments, the profound confusion still persists. At this time, Dr Vaz adds that hygiene, isolation, physical distancing, herd immunity will be the rule to reduce cases and surge of deaths. The solution would be to percolate to the poor or cater to the rich countries with unprecedented scale of interference by the government must ensure that we must be prepared to face this unique pandemic. With the fears of self-harm, suicide, stigmatisation, hate with certain sections of the population has given COVID-19 an image of radicalizing a communal issue which speaks the language of prejudice. In future, we would all be helpless to the unfolding drama where the backlash of the economy would minimize the educational benefits and the job opportunities. But the professor adds that there is a hope for the lockdown to be lifted soon and the situation to return back to normalcy. Till date we have oriented ourselves to anger, anxiety, boredom, guilt, lack of disciplined behaviours and feelings which would no longer exist when the lockdown is over. The food supply chain has been affected where the rural farmers are in acute crisis who are facing labour shortage, reduced demand, a few from there endless list of bottlenecked issues. Dr Vaz adds that COVID-19 has also been a boon and not a bane where we see the environment plunging to greater good where there is cleaner air and clearer skies. In the case of India, the land with huge socio-economic diversity, the implementation of the lockdown was difficult due to poor people who have no food, no shelter and also due to lack of disinfectants, for which Dr Vaz stated that we are majority secluded from these harsh realities. But these whispered voices of the informal, rural and unemployed people speak the language of seeking social justice cannot be just ignored. The COVID-19 warriors- Doctors and Police forces have pledged to follow no prejudice pattern and meet the needs of all. Dr Vaz points that the pandemic has severely affected the chronic mental, elderly, cancer patients. A statistical view was also provided where 69% stands for reduction in immunisation and 21% stands for institutional delivery which showcases the vast difference and how much the institutions need to cater more. The talk was concluded by Dr Vaz by imbibing the idea that the resilience of people, socio-economic fault lines would dictate the impact of COVID-19.  

German Reaction and Response- Prof Michael Dreyer

            Prof John Dean extended a heartful welcome to Prof Dreyer who aligned his speech on 3 lines- Populism, COVID-19 harm, Responses to it in the case of Germany. Germany socialism sees that populism is out of question to be dealt by the politicians. Europe has no populist parties but there has been a rare exception- Example: Freedom Party of Austria. In 2015, the cause of Xenophobia made refugees migrate who welcomed typical right-wing populist party. In the case of COVID-19, Prof  Dreyer notes that firstly, the Federal government is not primarily responsible and is only in charge of local and state, secondly the Chancellor Angela Markel has taken no rhetoric on the war on Corona and thirdly till date the contact restrictions and the closedown being imposed has worked. In the case of Federalism, the trend of populism can be seen as follows- First week: the Germans did nothing against the foreigners and did not become anti-EU as it would mean an infringement on sovereignty; Next few weeks: The policy issue was minimal; Last two weeks: The Germans spoke on freedom of movement and basic rights to be provided which was curbed by the government’s instructions and lastly in the last week: Demonstrations were held and spotted on various conspiracy theories spurring anti-Semitism. In the future, the Germans would resort to double accusation of the Federal Government and EU for not doing enough plus for doing too much for the populist. On a personal note, Prof Dreyer noticed that a policy framework has to be constructed which would be cautiously optimistic and would be absent of conspiracy theories.

Pandemic and Asian Response- Prof Daya Thussu

            Prof Naresh Rao welcomed Prof. Daya Thussu to deliver his ideas. Prof Thussu was overwhelmed as the webinar catered to the views of health experts, International Relations experts as well as politicians making it an all-rounder and interdisciplinary in nature.  Prof Thussu outlined his talk on the lines of communication aspects with the perspective of Asians followed by the role of mass media which was the primary focus. In the case of Europe mainly in France and Germany where the Corrier Picard and Der Special Magazine highlighted the discourse was radicalized by the mainstream media stating that COVID-19 was a plandemic and the creation of China. The WHO spoke on the infodemic in America like the Wall Street  quoting China as the real sick man of Asia and also we see that Elizabeth Warren in a social media platform  is of the opinion that Bigotry and Xenophobia against the people of Asian descent is unacceptable and coronavirus does not discriminate, hence we all need to be united to fight its spread. In the consideration of Populism in mainstream, Trump as Prof Daya calls as the world’s entertainment -in-chief has given his briefings on COVID-19 like that of a soap opera believing majority in fake news and conspiracy theories. Serious publications such as the Foreign Policy Journal, New York Times have highlighted on Trump officials are said to press spies to link virus and Wuhan labs, How China’s incompetence has endangered the world and finally on how a global yet a very hard hit on the US economy can be drawn at. Twitter saw undermining multilateralism and named WHO as Wuhan Health Organization and not World Health Organization as Wuhan was the epicentre with the outbreak of the pandemic at an unprecedented destructive scale. Even Sr Amitabh Bachan stated that WHO is too subtle for words too. Fake news was shown at Media outlets like that of the German art project which showcased a mass death in Wuhan. In the case of India which saw the virus taking group, shape and hold lately in March has made Media especially the Swarajya magazine- a serious right wing propagating on Xi Jingping as the “super spreader”, China -bashing India and also the Times of India speaking of the “Long March”. At the television front, the professor takes note of the Anti-Muslim Jihad Debate shown on many Hindi channels even that of the mainstream ones like News 18. Russia has evolved with a new conspiracy theory citing that 5G wireless connection and corona are closely interlinked and can create havoc and devastating damage on the humanity itself. The other nations like Japan, India, Iran, Italy, France, Germany etc are strongly propagating against China and are seeking medical aids and supplies to combat this unforgiving virus as quoted by China Daily. In the US Sector, a slogan of Made in America: Anti-China virus would soon go rounds. The Global Television News, China’s official government news of the Communist Party is reluctant to accept the fact that COVID-19 is a creation or made in Wuhan. Former Prime Minster of Australia, Kevin Rudd, has viewed Coronavirus has Cold War 1.5 and not Cold War 2.0 as still there is a need for a strong integration of dependency by both US and China. The professor concluded opining on that there is a serious emergency to the mankind which can be resolved by the consorted support to fight the force unitedly and to understand the role of the pandemics where along with the Great Powers, it is now the developing nations, India and Brazil to take a strong stance and position regarding the same.

Response and Reaction in the Mediterranean- Prof Konstantinos Karatzas

            Dr John Dean introduced Prof Konstantinos Karatzas to the audience. Dr Karatzas focussed his entire narrative on populism in Mediterranean which has linkages to that of Asia, Greece and Balkan. There has been an allegation that the Greece and Balkan governments are notorious for being ineffective an inefficient in their very nature itself. Post twelve years of privatisation, and with the outbreak of the virus, it has generated a new course and a different notion that has changed the political climate to be rigorous and powerful. Here, the governments have taken amass roles in combating COVID-19 and has initiated a charter of rules to be implemented and followed and any violation to the same would invite penalties and punishments. The professor also spoke on the Refugee crisis which is interconnected with Turkey. The last governments in the Mediterranean have promoted populist side making matters worse with the eruption of Right and Left wings. Since then there has been an opposition to elections and developing privatisation is the need of the hour. These governments do not believe in conspiracy theories. The professor predicts that when COVID-19 would give a relief to mankind, a downturn spiral effect would be seen on economies which would soon backlash following a financial crisis.

Followed by this was a brief question and answer session pertaining to topics discussed like globalisation, China-Media systems, India’s strength to regulate the largest lockdown; an interest for future historian’s due to the 1.3 billion population it beholds, Citizen Journalism- a change in Communication Ecology.

View of a Politician- Prof Rajiv Gowda 

            A special invitee, Prof Rajiv Gowda was extended a warm welcome by Dr Madhumati Deshpande and Dr Naresh Rao. The professor spoke on how there has been a surge of massive public distress and people are being very sceptical of their lives, livelihood. During the Global Financial Crisis, a linkage to COVID-19: there was a bail out for the rich and the poor incomes, homes, mortgage and some companies of China had to then relocate to survive and sustain. It has now leading to a politics of resentment situation. Prof Rajiv Gowda got an interesting view of how the populist leaders are confronting the havoc created COVID-19 situation which has generated a reaction of emergency, fear, risk etc. The professor stated examples of Boris Johnson using the theory of herd immunity post the Anti-Europe BREXIT and has propagated for crucial cooperation and lesser exposure. Another would be Xi Jingping who claims that the resurgence in Wuhan was not a big deal. Further, the communalisation of the discourse and blaming people for the same is not the solution. The ideal solution would be is to work on Measured and Scientific Responses and adequate time and research need to be done here else there will be no sustaining growth. Here, Science would have to be in congruence of the populist borders to eradicate the radical change of closing borders.

Eastern European Response- Prof Pawels Stachura

            Dr John Dean welcomed Prof Pawels Stachura whose responded on the following content- 1. Background, 2. The present Polish government, 3. Government’s response and 4. Public response. With the rise in the number of cases there has been an increased intensity of the group where they have become unpredictable, demographically dependent. The PiS Populism Polish Party does not support any radical, extremist view, neither positions on the right-wing racism and Semitism but prefers to show an interest in the centrist approach. The government is the defender of Freedom and Democracy here. The Polish response has been very clear which states there is no denial, no downplay and accepts the fact of the diminished role of the public health care but has implemented a strict lockdown which is enforced by both the police as well as that of the army. The Local government, Private charities do contribute, but are still largely ineffective. Some kind of propogandist gestures can be noticed. The Prime Minister greeted the hired Russian plane whose pilots served their nation by bringing medical supplies. But still a political issue persists which is the upcoming Presential elections. It is a danger to citizen’s safety and also there is no Polish Law provision of voting in another way and that was a major concern raised by the Professor. Finally, the public response has seen a wave of radical mind people who are rendering their support to the government and have taken measures and are working effectively, correctly towards them. But the government presents itself as a rational by expressing their radical views and gives a paradox, mixed responses, making the professor call it a ‘spineless government’. The professor concluded by stating that it has evoked the criticism of EU- as the Polish Government is leaning more towards EU.

Policy and Activism- Dr Kshitij Urs

            Dr Madhumati Deshpande introduced Dr Kshitij Urs who gave his insights on populism from the pandemic perspective. Dr Urs drew parallels between Anarchy and Populism which are fundamental in the construction of Democracy. All the political decisions making from the view of a Casteist society is wrong as Gandhian populism invokes the spirit of nationalism and adding to it is that of Dr Ambedkar whose 18 volumes on Social Justice seeks for the emancipation of the suppressed and oppressed. In India, there is an unprecedented scale of the poor below the poverty line and they prefer to die rather than going to a doctor due to the incapacity of affording payments. Hence Dr Urs opines that the programme needs to include a Principle of Self Selection. The absence of the social security programme has to be evaded soon. The long terms civil society activation for good education and health care sector is the need of the hour. In the case of some countries, populism is leading to a critical mass of fascism and is cropping up authoritarian regimes. This would be concluded in as a society of warring communities as rightly pointed by Dr Ambedkar. Dr Urs highlights the fallacy of the Prime Minister Modi’s vision in curtailing the spread of COVID-19 where he gave four hours’ time period before the initiation of the lockdown without even addressing the concerns of the poor. It was a clear expression of not democratising the process. Dr Urs urged the audience to cater to progressive views so that we can initiate an alternative perspective.  

Food and Populism- Prof Roger Porter

            Dr Madhumati Deshpande played a pre-recorded video of the insightful speech by Dr Roger Porter who couldn’t make it to the webinar owing to his busy time schedule. Dr John Dean welcomed Dr Roger Porters who is best known for his American Food critics- Food and Populism. The professor is of the view that African Americans and Spaniards are positing themselves at 33% of the cases found globally where 18% and 17% respectively if their population have died due to COVID-19. The failure of testing ventilators, dismissal of guidelines of safety, transmission into communities of colours, building ongoing racism, increase mortality rate of minorities and younger generation is definitely a concern. Trump has witnessed the fear of invasion from Mexicans and Muslims etc. Countries have witnessed a series of protests where people are not abiding and are refusing to wear masks, are carrying riffles and staging rallies, protest. In US, recently a store employee was shoot in the same regard. The outbreak of the core epidemic in Greece has outlined: Left supporting Social Contract and seeking the benefit for all and activating the Right for Press, on the other hand the Right is suspicious of international alliances of science and expertise. In 2016, Trump made a populist distrust and appreciated the authoritarian regimes which has now backfired for him. Now US is having debates on whether Individual Liberty or Life is more important. One cannot be enslaved in quarantine and for all the menial jobs workers are required. Trump believes in conspiracy theories and has evoked a distrust of Science and hence we see treads of Fascism here. Even the food programme has been cancelled and due to it 28% of young children are going hungry. There has been a mass closure of schools as there are no free meals and adding to the misery people are losing shelter as they are not able to pay the rent. Paul Krugman stated that an increase in food aid will make people reluctant to contribute effectively. But here in US, the poor long for food bringing the situation back to the Great Depression of the 1930’s. The COVID-19 cases saw spurt at the meat packing plants where the infection spread by no means and bounds and tremendously affected the 11 million people employed at the restaurants at New York. This can turn out to have very fatal and suicidal consequences as there is a tendency that minorities suffer longer hours of work outside and eventually the neighbourhood is affected making the illness to turn into death. For example, the personal quarantine in Green Houses in Amsterdam, Poland where people find food not providing a pleasure experience but with a warning with every bite considering the welfare and safety of the populism. We can overcome the situation by inducing an effort of domestic self-sufficiency stimulation. The professor concluded by stating that we need to retain these practices learnt now even when the situation returns back to normalcy.

Moderators Remarks- Prof John Dean

            The moderator was overwhelmed by the views and opinions of the speakers and concluded the webinar by stating that all nations either at the middle or at the up end have to resolve these issues and need to understand that the absence of multilateral world is a major obstruction so nations need to come together in the forefront to fight COVID-19.

This was followed by question and answer session. Dr Manoharan N, Dr Koiremba N, Dr Barnali Chanda, Dr Gerald Rassendaran, PhD scholars and many more were involved in asking question pertaining to borders, propaganda, political communication, privatisation of healthcare, immigration fears, government policies, racism, mask on populism etc which were answered by the speakers.  The Vote of Thanks was delivered by Dr John Dean and Dr Shobhana Mathews.  Overall, the webinar was successful and provided an insightful thought of the current fearful deadly scenario with a ray of hope.