German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

(Un-)healthy Civil-Military Relations? Militarization of State Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latin America and Asia-Pacific

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

Team

Dr. Lars Pelke

Former GIGA Team member

Cooperation Partners

Institute of Political Science, Heidelberg University German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)Political Science Department, University of California, Riverside

Head

Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant

Institut für Politische Wissenschaft, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

Dr. David Kuehn

Senior Research Fellow / Coordinator GIGA Forum

Prof. Dr. David Pion-Berlin

Political Science Department, University of California, Riverside

Research Questions

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?

Contribution to International Research

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.

Research Design and Methods

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.

GIGA Focus Global | 3/2023

Military Involvement in COVID-19 Responses: Comparing Asia and Latin America

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries in Asia and Latin America mobilised their armed forces for a broad range of related support activities. However, this military participation occurring in the two regions, even where extensive, did not necessarily threaten democracy and human rights.

Dr. David Kuehn

Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant

Prof. Dr. David Pion-Berlin

Ariam Macias-Weller

GIGA Working Papers | 06/2023

Militarisation of COVID-19 Responses and Autocratisation: A Comparative Study of Eight Countries in Asia-Pacific and Latin America

This working paper examines the military’s contributions to COVID-19 pandemic responses and their implications for democracy in eight countries in in Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant

Dr. David Kuehn

Ariam Macias-Weller

Prof. Dr. David Pion-Berlin

GIGA Focus Asia | 3/2023

Federalism in Times of Crisis: Insights from India’s COVID-19 Response

Why do some subnational units respond better to crises than others, despite having the same constitutional authority to act? This GIGA Focus investigates the cases of four Indian states to identify factors contributing to successful COVID-19 crisis management.

Prof. Dr. Chanchal Kumar Sharma

Associate

GIGA Focus Global | 3/2022

COVID-19 and Violent Actors in the Global South: A Complex Relationship

A cross-regional comparative analysis of the effects of COVID-19 on violence shows high levels of variation between contexts and in terms of specific armed actors. While Latin America along with the Middle East and North Africa have experienced an overall reduction, violence in sub-Saharan Africa has increased.

Yannick Deepen

Dr. André Bank

Dr. Julia Grauvogel

Prof. Dr. Sabine Kurtenbach