German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

COVID-19 and the Global South

Large parts of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East have been very seriously affected by COVID-19, with the states of the Global South showing a wide variety of reactions to its onset and the long-term effects of the pandemic continuing to play out today. Learn more about how the GIGA is contributing to scholarship and practice on addressing the worldwide repercussions of COVID-19.

Motra-Spotlight | 05/2024

Einstellungen der Bevölkerung in Deutschland zu Militärhilfen für die Ukraine

In diesem MOTRA-Spotlight werden das Ausmaß der Kriegsangst sowie Einstellungen der Bevölkerung in Deutschland zu Militärhilfen für die Ukraine vorgestellt und diskutiert.

Janosch Kleinschnittger

Dr. Katrin Brettfeld

Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

Prof. Dr. Peter Wetzels

Lecture Series | 23/01/2025

GIGA China Series

This talk will discuss whether and how China-related power shifts have unfolded at the UN over the last two decades, focusing on the UN's three main pillars. It also covers UN relations with China’s Belt and Road Initiative and more recent Chinese attempts to promote the Global Development Initiative.

Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft | 02/2023

Navigating the Dual Dilemma between Lives, Rights and Livelihoods: COVID-19 Responses in China, Singapore, and South Korea

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a dual dilemma for governments worldwide: between the protection of lives and of individual rights, and more long-term between safeguarding lives and preserving livelihoods.

Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig

Associate

Asian Survey: A Bimonthly Review of Contemporary Asian Affairs | 08/2023

COVID-19, Anti-Chinese Sentiment, and Foreign Policy Attitudes in South Korea

COVID-19 generated significant anti-Chinese sentiment in South Korea. Domestic elite-level narratives regarding China at the pandemic’s onset were highly polarized: conservative parties advocated border shutdowns, emphasizing China as originating the virus, while progressive parties warned that this would incite xenophobia. Did these narratives shape anti-Chinese sentiment, and what are their foreign policy effects?

Dr. Esther Song

Associate

Workshop | 05/07/2023 - 06/07/2023

GLACIER Workshop: From Immunology to Bioactive Compounds

From Immunology to Bioactive Compounds, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB), Halle Valeria Morales (Panelist)

On July 5-6, GLACIER fellows, scientists and interested parties met for the GLACIER workshop “From Immunology to Bioactive Compounds in Halle. Took place at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB).

Valeria Morales

Doctoral Researcher

Video | 07/2023

COVID-19 and Violent Actors in the Global South: An Inter- and Cross-Regional Comparison

This trend analysis examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on state and non-state violent actors in the Global South. We provide an ACLED-based interregional mapping of trends in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa.

Yannick Deepen

Dr. André Bank

Dr. Julia Grauvogel

Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

Review of Development Economics | 06/2023

Material and Nonmaterial Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from a Low-Income Country

How have COVID-19-related restrictions affected consumption levels and life satisfaction in low-income countries? The authors of this article conducted phone surveys with 577 households in Liberia to compare consumption patterns across three points in time.

Rebecca Lohmann

Former Doctoral Researcher

Dr. Lisa Hoffmann

Associate

Journal of Global Security Studies | 05/2023

The Impact of COVID-19 on Insurgency and Rebel Governance: Lessons from India’s Northeast

Emerging research has suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic has generally favored rebel organizations—rather than states—in situations of intrastate conflict. This article challenges this perspective by analyzing the pandemic's impact on three dimensions of rebel activity—armed activity, popular support and recruitment, and rebel governance.

Prof. Dr. Edward Newman

Jaideep Saikia

Dr. Alex Waterman

Contact

Current Research

Countries and Regions

Prof. Dr. Patrick Köllner

Director of the GIGA Institute for Asian Studies / Vice President

T. +49 40 428874-17 [email protected]

The Indo-Pacific as a New Strategic Space
Comparative Area Studies: Analytical and Organisational Issues

Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Island Countries
Japan
Korean peninsula
Indo-Pacific

Prof. Dr. Matthias Basedau

Director of the GIGA Institute for African Affairs / Editor GIGA Focus Africa

T. +49 40 42825-517 [email protected]

Resources conflicts
Religion and violent conflict
Civil–military relations
Political institutions

Sub-Saharan Africa
Mali
Niger
Chad
Botswana

Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

Director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies / Editor GIGA Focus Middle East

T. +49 40 42825-504 [email protected]

Contemporary history of Iraq (1979-2003)
Political Economy of the Middle East
Energy and food security
Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation

Gulf region
Iraq
Egypt
Syria

Prof. Dr. Bert Hoffmann

Lead Research Fellow / Co-Leader of the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies (ad interim) Head GIGA Berlin Office Editor GIGA Focus Latin America

[email protected]

German-Latin American Centre of Infection & Epidemiology Research and Training (GLACIER), Principal Investigator (2021-2025)
Cuba's Transformation: Crisis, Continuity and Change in Socialist Cuba

Latin America
Caribbean
Cuba

Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

President (ad interim)

T. +49 40 42825-570 [email protected]

Postwar Societies
Violence and Social change
Youth

Central America
Colombia

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Lead Research Fellow / Co-Leader of the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies (ad interim)

T. +49 40 42825-766 [email protected]

Political institutions in Latin America
Presidentialism
Latin American congresses
Latin American courts
President-Congress relations; president-court relations

Latin America
Argentina
Brazil

Prof. Dr. Christian von Soest

Lead Research Fellow / Head of Research Programme "Peace and Security"

T. +49 30 25040-986 [email protected]

International sanctions and interventions
Authoritarian regimes
Legitimation of political regimes
Foreign policy and development policy

Southern Africa and East Africa
South Africa
Botswana
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Kenya

Dr. André Bank

Senior Research Fellow

T. +49 40 42825-584 [email protected]

Regional Explanations for Authoritarianism
Statethood and Political Domination in the Middle East (with a focus on Jordan and Syria)
The War in Syria
Regional Politics and the Relationship between Arabism and Islamism

Jordan
Syria
Palestine/Israel
Turkey (Near East Politics)

Dr. Christiane Fröhlich

Senior Research Fellow / Research Team Spokesperson

T. +49 40 42825-621 [email protected]

Human mobility within and from the Global South
Forced migration governance
Climate-related mobility

Syria
Jordan
Lebanon
Israel/Palestine
Turkey (refugee policy)

Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

Lead Research Fellow / Head of Research Programme "Accountability and Participation"

T. +49 40 42825-528 [email protected]

Executive Personalization
Global Political Economy
Structural Adjustment and Sectoral Transformation
Institutional and Material Determinants of Authoritarian Rule
Shrinking Civic Spaces

Small Gulf Monarchies
Middle East and North Africa

Research Project | 01/10/2021 - 01/10/2022

COVID-19 in Latin America: The Role of Social Protections for Households with Children

This project analyzes the socio-economic fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the intervening role of social protections, on families with children in eight Latin American countries. The region, with high levels of inequality, labor informality, and urbanization, has been particularly hard hit by both pandemic deaths and economic effects. The social protection responses, however, have varied dramatically, from a massive emergency assistance plan in Brazil to virtually no additional cash transfer aid in Mexico.
DFG, 2021-2022

Prof. Dr. Merike Blofield

Associate

Dr. Juliana Martínez Franzoni

University of Costa Rica

Research Project | 01/10/2021 - 15/04/2022

Investigating Supply & Demand Side Factors of a Massive Covid-19 Vaccination Drive: Experimental Evidence from Indonesia

Indonesia is fighting one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in Asia. On January 13, 2021, the country started one of the world’s biggest COVID-19 vaccination drives. The plan is to inoculate 181.5 million people – two third of the population – in 15 months using primarily the CoronaVac from China’s Sinovac Biotech. The vaccination campaign is ambitious and its success hinges on a number of supply and demand side factors which are subject to investigation in this project.
DFG, 2021-2022

Prof. Dr. Renate Hartwig

Research Fellow

Dr. Jan Priebe

Associate

Research Project | 01/03/2021 - 30/09/2022

Corona Conflicts? Analysing Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Violent Conflict in Africa

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, decision-makers warned that the pandemic might lead to more violent conflict in fragile states, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. This project engages in a mixed-methods approach to study related relationships.
Volkswagen Foundation, 2021-2022

Prof. Dr. Matthias Basedau

Director of the GIGA Institute for African Affairs / Editor GIGA Focus Africa

Mora Deitch

Associate

Infographic | 02/2024

European Governments and Covid-19: Unmasking the Nexus of Narratives and Policy Responses

Why have governments with similar political institutions, cultures, and development levels reacted so differently to the COVID-19 pandemic? Summary and visualization by Eduardo Valencia of 'Pandemic narratives and policy responses: west European governments and Covid-19' by Amrita Narlikar and Cecilia Emma Sottilotta.

Eduardo Valencia

Prof. Dr. Amrita Narlikar

Ass. Prof. Dr. Cecilia Emma Sottilotta

GIGA Focus Global | 3/2023

Military Involvement in COVID-19 Responses: Comparing Asia and Latin America

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries in Asia and Latin America mobilised their armed forces for a broad range of related support activities. However, this military participation occurring in the two regions, even where extensive, did not necessarily threaten democracy and human rights.

Dr. David Kuehn

Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant

Prof. Dr. David Pion-Berlin

Ariam Macias-Weller

Video | 07/2023

COVID-19 and Violent Actors in the Global South: An Inter- and Cross-Regional Comparison

Yannick Deepen

Dr. André Bank

Dr. Julia Grauvogel

Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach

Internationale Politik | 06/2023

Was ist der Globale Süden?: Niemand mag den Begriff so richtig – alle verwenden ihn. Was taugt er? Was beschreibt er? Gibt es Alternativen? Ordnungsversuche in einer komplizierten Welt.

Was ist der Globale Süden? Niemand mag den Begriff so richtig – alle verwenden ihn. Was taugt er? Was beschreibt er? Gibt es Alternativen? Ordnungsversuche in einer komplizierten Welt.

Prof. Dr. Miriam Prys-Hansen

Lead Research Fellow / Head of Research Programme "Global Orders and Foreign Policies"

Chapter in Edited Volume | 06/2023

China’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Navigating Internal and External Challenges

Prof. Dr. Heike Holbig

Associate

Panel discussion | 22/09/2020

From Crisis to Resilience ‒ How Can We Link Recovery, Sustainability, and Trade?

In support of “SDG 17 Partnerships: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development”, this panel will tackle some of the difficult questions around trade and sustainability that have been brought into stark focus by the coronavirus pandemic. Video of the event availiable.

GIGA Seminar in Socio-Economics | 13/07/2023

Personalized Information Provision and the Take-Up of Government Benefits: Experimental Evidence from India

Lecture by Dr. Bansi Malde (University of Kent) on joint work with Amrit Amirappu, Irma Clots-Figueras, Anirban Mitra, Debayan Pakrashi, and Zaki Wahhaj.

GIGA Forum | 31/05/2023

Germs, Guns, and Rage: COVID-19 and Violent Conflict in the Global South

In this GIGA Forum, experts on conflict-ridden countries in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East will discuss how and to what extent the pandemic has exacerbated conflict in the Global South.

Video now online!

Workshop | 07/04/2022 - 08/04/2022

Policy Challenges in Latin America: Looking to the Future

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Latin American countries particularly hard and exposed structural vulnerabilities in the region. At a joint workshop of the EU-LAC Foundation and the GIGA, scholars will assess key policy challenges in the areas of social protection, labour informality, education, health, state capacity, migration, and more.

GIGA Forum | 20/10/2021

The Shadow Pandemic: Policy Efforts Addressing Gender-Based Violence During COVID-19

In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic the risk of gender-based violence, especially within the home, has increased and Governments around the world are addressing this problem differently. In this GIGA Forum/GIGA Talk, experts discussed the effect of related government responses and offer policy recommendations. Video of event now online.

Cooperation Event | 15/12/2020

Preserving Social Cohesion in the COVID-19 Crisis: An Agenda for the EU-LAC Partnership

At this side event to the EU-LAC Foreign Ministers Meeting, academics and policymakers will discuss how newly created or expanded social protection measures can be made sustainable, what additional measures are needed, and what an agenda of cooperation for social cohesion between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean might look like.

GIGA Talk | 15/10/2020

Eradicating Poverty: Is COVID-19 Undoing the Progress Made?

Uganda had one of the strictest lockdowns in East Africa, including closing all but essential businesses, dusk-to-dawn curfews, and bans on both private and public transport vehicles. GIGA researchers take a look at how these measures affected people and businesses in the informal economy. Video of the event availiable.

Cooperation Event | 13/10/2020

Half a Year Later: COVID-19 in Latin America, and Its Social and Political Effects

COVID-19 and associated measures have ravaged lives and livelihoods in Latin America, with a particularly stark impact on informal and poor households. This roundtable addresses the varied social protection responses of governments in the region, ranging from the broad social protection floor established in Brazil, to virtually no pandemic-induced social assistance in Mexico. Video of the event availiable.

Panel discussion | 22/09/2020

From Crisis to Resilience ‒ How Can We Link Recovery, Sustainability, and Trade?

Workshop | 07/04/2022 - 08/04/2022

Policy Challenges in Latin America: Looking to the Future

GIGA Forum | 20/10/2021

The Shadow Pandemic: Policy Efforts Addressing Gender-Based Violence During COVID-19

Cooperation Event | 15/12/2020

Preserving Social Cohesion in the COVID-19 Crisis: An Agenda for the EU-LAC Partnership

GIGA Talk | 15/10/2020

Eradicating Poverty: Is COVID-19 Undoing the Progress Made?

Cooperation Event | 13/10/2020

Half a Year Later: COVID-19 in Latin America, and Its Social and Political Effects

Panel discussion | 22/09/2020

From Crisis to Resilience ‒ How Can We Link Recovery, Sustainability, and Trade?

Tagesspiegel | Interview | 20/07/2023

„Der Planet gehört nicht den Menschen“

In diesem Interview von Hans Monath, plädiert Professor Amrita Narlikar für Tierreche und artenübergreifende Rechte - nicht nur zum Schutz vor Pandemien, auch als Kriterium der Außenpolitik zum Beispiel. Wir müssen uns um Biodiversität und Nachhaltigkeit kümmern, aber die Diskussion ist viel zu anthropozentrisch.

Prof. Dr. Amrita Narlikar

Former President

Deutsche Welle | Quote | 13/02/2023

Syrien: Wird das Erdbeben zur Chance für Assad?

Der Artikel befasst sich mit den Versuchen des syrischen Regimes unter Präsident Bashar al-Assad, aus dem massiven Erdbeben im Land politisches Kapital zu schlagen. Ziel ist es, die Sanktionen aufzuheben und das Regime regional in der MENA-Region und international wieder salonfähig zu machen.

Dr. André Bank

Senior Research Fellow

taz - die tageszeitung | Interview | 11/02/2023

„Europa muss sehr vorsichtig sein“

Im Interview mit der taz spricht Dr. André Bank über die politische Lage in Syrien nach dem schweren Erdbeben vom 6. Februar. Er plädiert für die Öffnung weiterer Grenzübergänge an der syrisch-türkischen Grenze und warnt die EU davor, Hilfe über das brutale Regime von Präsident Bashar al-Assad zu senden.

Dr. André Bank

Senior Research Fellow

Hamburg Ministry of Science, Research, and Equality | 02/10/2024 - 08/10/2024

Ghana Science Delegation

Organiser: Hamburg Ministry of Science, Research, and Equality Dr. Julia Grauvogel (Invited Guest)

Senior Research Fellow Dr Julia Grauvogel took part in a delegation trip to Ghana from 2 to 8 October 2024. The trip was organised by the Hamburg Ministry of Science, Research, Equalities and Districts (BWFGB) under the leadership of Second Mayor and Senator for Science Katharina Fegebank. The delegation's intensive discussions led to promising research collaborations.

Dr. Julia Grauvogel

Senior Research Fellow / Research Team Spokesperson

Institute of Advanced National Studies | 23/01/2024

Colloquium on the Project "COVID-19 and the Personalization of the Executive Power"

Organiser: Institute of Advanced National Studies Emilia Arellano (Speaker)

In collaboration with esteemed professors and legal scholars, we delved into the project "COVID-19 and executive personalisation in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa region".