Coil Project on the European Union

The aim of this project was to gain a comprehensive overview of political responses to the Covid19 pandemic around the globe. To do so we investigate the following:

• What strategies are pursued and how affective are they?
• Who are the key actors in producing responses?
• Which ethical positions are taken by political decision-makers in producing responses to the pandemic?
• Which people are affected by the pandemic most and what does this tell us about political systems and cultures?
• And what could political communities around the world do better to improve the situation?

 
Learning Outcomes:

• To enhance intercultural awareness and work together collaboratively transnationally
• To communicate effectively in public
• To gain comprehensive overview of political responses to the Covid-19 pandemic globally
• To apply knowledge to produce policy relevant materials

Project leaders and Contact details: 

• Atsuko Watanabe
• Felix Roesch

The work was carried out mostly through Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings where the students researched on their given country/region and how they responded to Covid. It was important to explore this as International Relations students, given that the field is in constant change and evolution and a global pandemic has strained and strengthened relations between countries and organisations around the world. The biggest lesson learnt was that the world is not always as united as it seems and that, sometimes, the “less relevant” and smaller nations were the ones with the best strategies and who really work with their communities for a better common future.
 
 

The students involved in this project were: Vanessa Quintal, Yousra Maataz, Terézia Vidovencová, Débora Gonçalves, and Manami Iwasaki.