Introduction

A political shift to populist and nationalistic parties in the democratic countries has recently seen a move away from globalization, accelerated by a desire to contain Covid-19 epidemic within national borders together with dramatic impact on travel internationally. The development process itself may not have changed dramatically, but the advent of the Internet and changes in consumer behaviour have resulted in a remarkable shift in distribution channel and segment mix for the hotel industry;technology will continue to deliver further changes, including in methods of design and construction as well as services delivery. The ratio of flagged hotels and a shift to franchised and white label units has increased, and the nature of owners and range of investors changed to reflect the attraction of managed hotel investment in an era of low interest rates and globalization with the major branded groups' geographic reach extending dramatically, especially into China. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Josef Ransley, Hadyn Ingram and Debra Adams;individual chapters, the contributors

Anti-Democratic Malign Influence in the Time of COVID-19

Propaganda and disinformation activities by state and non-state actors represents one of the most pressing national security and foreign policy issues for the United States and its allies. This issue has been brought into acute focus as the global spread of the coronavirus has been partnered by a tsunami of malign influence activities targeting democracies. This paper argues that the propaganda and disinformation activities of state and non-state actors targeting democratic populations is best understood as ‘anti-democratic malign influence activities' because of a shared overarching strategic logic. The framework that emerges from this study is then used to explore how COVID-19 and government responses to it have been leveraged by anti-democratic actors. This chapter concludes by examining key policy implications based on the study's findings. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Viewpoint: An Intersectional Approach to Water Equity in the US

In the United States today, there is growing concern over what is being referred to as a 'water crisis', but which is, in fact, a crisis of equity in water access. This concern has been exacerbated and illuminated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper draws on reports from leading NGOs, activist groups and media sources, on commentary from high-profile water actors, and on emerging academic literature. In the process of these investigations, it uncovers a tendency to frame the water crisis primarily in terms of affordability;it also notes widespread concern over access and water quality issues. All of these are fundamentally related to equity principles. We argue here that seeing America's water crisis as being about equity of access provides an opportunity to foreground the historic inequities revealed by the pandemic and by the subsequent economic downturn. A broader, intersectional approach can open-up the problem framing of water equity in the US to include histories of racism and colonialism. An intersectional approach allows for a more integrated and holistic analysis of the ways in which social difference shapes access, quality and affordability of water. Underlying power structures can be revealed through a better understanding of how water inequities result from broader patterns of systemic racism and colonial relations. Ultimately, this improved understanding can result in interventions that disrupt familiar patterns of inequality. As the idea of a water crisis in the US comes into the mainstream, the paper offers a point from which academics can begin to frame their research and a base from which practitioners can consider how to better achieve equity in water governance.