Building Trust, Confidence and Collective Action in the Age of COVID-19
by David Steven, Alex Evans | Apr 8, 2020
In spite of questionable handling of the crisis so far, David Steven and Alex Evans say it’s not too late for leaders and individuals to formulate a response to the coronavirus pandemic that is “dynamic, innovative and diverse” – a shared response to a shared threat.
But when the situation is progressing at a rate faster than collective responses can keep up with, how do we ensure that we’re fully harnessing the power of the “Larger Us”, and how do we resist a slide towards polarisation in a time when cohesion is more important than ever?
In their article for World Politics Review, David and Alex address these questions, outlining their plan for protecting the trust that enables us to work together while neutralising the forces that push us apart.
Read the article: Building Trust, Confidence and Collective Action in the Age of COVID-19
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David Steven is a senior fellow at the UN Foundation and at New York University, where he founded the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children and the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, a multi-stakeholder partnership to deliver the SDG targets for preventing all forms of violence, strengthening governance, and promoting justice and inclusion. He was lead author for the ministerial Task Force on Justice for All and senior external adviser for the UN-World Bank flagship study on prevention, Pathways for Peace. He is a former senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-author of The Risk Pivot: Great Powers, International Security, and the Energy Revolution (Brookings Institution Press, 2014). In 2001, he helped develop and launch the UK’s network of climate diplomats. David lives in and works from Pisa, Italy.
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Alex Evans is founder of Larger Us, which explores how we can use psychology to reduce political tribalism and polarisation, a senior fellow at New York University, and author of The Myth Gap: What Happens When Evidence and Arguments Aren’t Enough? (Penguin, 2017).
He is a former Campaign Director of the 50 million member global citizen’s movement Avaaz, special adviser to two UK Cabinet Ministers, climate expert in the UN Secretary-General’s office, and was Research Director for the Business Commission on Sustainable Development.
Alex lives with his wife and two children in Yorkshire.
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