Page - 22 - in Friedensgutachten 2020 - Im Schatten der Pandemie: letzte Chance für Europa

CONCLUSION The coronavirus pandemic is the defining issue of 2020. Nonetheless, other global dangers to peace need to stay on the political agenda. Not only the pandemic itself and its economic, social, and political consequences endanger human security and peace; in its shadow, other dangers to peace are intensifying. Yet the coronavirus pandemic need not only be regarded as a crisis for the global peace effort. It can also be viewed as an opportunity to revive many efforts to strengthen peace. In early 2020, national unilateralism is the rule: yet already and with good reason, calls for concerted European and global responses are growing louder. These include, for instance, cooperation on the production and distribution of protective equipment, in medical testing and in managing the economic and social consequences of the pandemic. COVID-19 will affect every country, albeit with varying levels of severity. International cooperation is necessary to limit disruption, stimulate the global economy, and ameliorate the political consequences. This is not a hopeless cause, as the experience of global crisis generates the experience of global solidarity, which can help to produce cooperation. In recent years, Europe has faced the threat of being crushed between great-power rivalries. But the current crisis could be Europe’s hour to shine. After the retreat to the national level in spring 2020, now is the time for European solidarity. This will certainly need to include The growth of far-right violence in recent years cannot be understood without consider- ing the targeted use of social media by extreme-right groups. Although the number of terrorist attacks and the number of victims are falling worldwide, they remain high. It is particularly troubling that there has been a sharp rise in attacks by right-wing extremists with large numbers of victims in recent years. Even when such acts are committed by so-called “lone-wolves”, they occur in a context of discursive coarsening, delegitimization, and open hostility towards minorities, “elites”, “traditional parties” and democratic pro- cesses. Combating right-wing extremism, far-right terrorism, and the racism that underlies them is a concern for the whole of society. Efforts to promote democracy at local, state, and national level need to work together on this front. The resources provided to schools, local author- ities, clubs and civil-society organizations must be expanded so that they can tackle right- wing extremism effectively and provide all the necessary tools to their communities – from information to pastoral care. The growth of right- wing violence relies upon the targeted use of social media by right-wing extremists 2020 / In the Shadow of the Pandemic: Europe’s Last Chance / STATEMENT 22