The Corona Dispatches are short updates on the situation in different countries around the world, written by members and friends of The Policy Corner. You would like to write a dispatch for us? No problem — just get in touch with us at submissions@policycorner.org, we look forward to hearing from you!

Renting, repairing and redistributing instead of hyper-consumption and ownership-the sharing economy seems to revolutionize market capitalism. But can the sharing economy really be a sustainable alternative to market capitalism and create a new socio-economic system for the 21st century? Or is it just another neoliberal experiment in disguise, creating ever more powerful platform owners and disempowered workers? 

The reliability and quality of freshwater resources depends on a variety of environmental factors. As policymaking often takes place in silos when it comes to financing water security, we need a more holistic approach to the protection and provision of freshwater resources. By encouraging water trust funds that allow for a decentralized and nature-based approach to water governance, countries can better tackle challenges of water security and improve the health of ecosystems. 

Advocacy NGOs often face challenges from political actors questioning their legitimacy. A new approach of introducing electorates nationally or regionally to grassroots organizations might protect them against such political attacks, and also serve to increase their legitimacy. The Hungarian Independent Student Parliament provides a potential model that could be replicated in other similar NGOs in and beyond Hungary.

Terrorists use the internet and social media to radicalize youth by exploiting general distrust in governments. African governments have responded to this threat by passing politically motivated internet limitation laws, which only exacerbate existing grievances and mistrust. Instead, African governments should build upon existing models of community policing and embrace an inclusive regional community online policing consortium through the leadership of the African Union.

The German start-up landscape currently lacks international competitiveness. Existing legislation makes it difficult for start-ups to attract and retain highly skilled workers without taking on a large financial burden. Revising the regulatory framework for employee stock option plans could help solve this issue.