A number of governments in Latin America and Asia-Pacific have given their militaries wide-ranging responsibilities to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. While the militarization of politics and public life partly precedes the pandemic, COVID-19 acts as a major stress test. States have mobilized the military to support civilian health systems and administrative agencies, and to uphold public order. This project examines the role the military plays in the COVID-19 pandemic response in 36 countries in Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
Volkswagen Foundation, 2021-2022
The project examines two main research questions: (1) What is the role of the military in developing and implementing public policies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and Asia? (2) How can we explain the different roles of the military in COVID-19 responses across these regions?
The project’s findings will contribute to the burgeoning literature on the political implications of the global COVID-19 pandemic and will offer crucial insights for academics, decision-makers and the broader public on the role of the military in times of a global emergency in the two regions and beyond.
Based on the systematic coding of publicly available data and two waves of expert survey, we will create and analyze the “Militarization of State Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic” (MSRC)-Dataset.