Politics of Pandemics – serie

This book reviews the political significance of COVID-19 in the context of earlier pandemic encounters and scares to understand the ways in which it challenges the existing individual health, domestic order, international health governance actors, and, more fundamentally, the circulation-based modus operandi of the present world order. It argues that contagious diseases should be regarded as complex open-ended phenomena with various features and are not reducible merely to biology and epidemiology. They are, as such, fundamentally politosomatic, namely that they disrupt, agitate, and trigger large-scale processes because individual somatic-level anxieties stem from individuals’ sensing immediate danger through the networks of their local and global connectedness. The author further argues that pandemics have somatic effects in political expressions that transform the epidemic into national security dramas which should not, for the sake of efficient health governance, be treated as aspects extraneous to the disease itself. The book highlights that when a serious infectious disease spreads, a 'threat' is very often externalized into a culturally meaningful 'foreign' entity. Pandemics tend to be territorialized, nationalized, ethnicized, and racialized. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of global health and governance, pandemic security, epidemics, history of medicine, geopolitics, international relations, and general readers interested in the COVID-19 pandemic.

This book reviews the political significance of COVID-19 in the context of earlier pandemic encounters and scares to understand the ways in which it challenges the existing individual health, domestic order, international health governance actors, and, more fundamentally, the circulation-based modus operandi of the present world order. It argues that contagious diseases should be regarded as complex open-ended phenomena with various features and are not reducible merely to biology and epidemiology. They are, as such, fundamentally politosomatic, namely that they disrupt, agitate, and trigger large-scale processes because individual somatic-level anxieties stem from individuals’ sensing immediate danger through the networks of their local and global connectedness. The author further argues that pandemics have somatic effects in political expressions that transform the epidemic into national security dramas which should not, for the sake of efficient health governance, be treated as aspects extraneous to the disease itself. The book highlights that when a serious infectious disease spreads, a 'threat' is very often externalized into a culturally meaningful 'foreign' entity. Pandemics tend to be territorialized, nationalized, ethnicized, and racialized. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of global health and governance, pandemic security, epidemics, history of medicine, geopolitics, international relations, and general readers interested in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pandemic Response and the Cost of Lockdowns brings the vast analytical apparatus of the humanities and social sciences to the task of critically analysing the political decisions taken in 2020–21.The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic left little time for critical debate about the impact of lockdowns. Across the world, governments claimed to "follow the science", but they rarely paid attention to the humanities and social sciences. Indeed, the absence of these perspectives is symptomatic of a longer-term trend in the marginalisation of the humanities and social sciences in policymaking and public debate. This book exposes the tragic consequences of this omission in 2020–21 and demonstrates the potential for a different path in the future – a path in which we pay attention to power, complexity, and our biases. The authors establish what these disciplines have to offer in a global emergency and how we can ensure they help us avoid the mistakes of 2020–21 in the future.This original and interdisciplinary book will be of great interest to students, scholars, and researchers throughout the humanities and social sciences, including the fields of philosophy, sociology, anthropology, law, political science, and history, as well as relevant policymakers.

Pandemic Response and the Cost of Lockdowns brings the vast analytical apparatus of the humanities and social sciences to the task of critically analysing the political decisions taken in 2020–21.The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic left little time for critical debate about the impact of lockdowns. Across the world, governments claimed to "follow the science", but they rarely paid attention to the humanities and social sciences. Indeed, the absence of these perspectives is symptomatic of a longer-term trend in the marginalisation of the humanities and social sciences in policymaking and public debate. This book exposes the tragic consequences of this omission in 2020–21 and demonstrates the potential for a different path in the future – a path in which we pay attention to power, complexity, and our biases. The authors establish what these disciplines have to offer in a global emergency and how we can ensure they help us avoid the mistakes of 2020–21 in the future.This original and interdisciplinary book will be of great interest to students, scholars, and researchers throughout the humanities and social sciences, including the fields of philosophy, sociology, anthropology, law, political science, and history, as well as relevant policymakers.

This book critically reflects on the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by exploring the impact and possible future outcomes in a region already struggling with the effects of a decade of uprisings, failed or difficult political transitions, state collapses, civil war and international conflict. International scholars offer a comprehensive treatment of today's major societal issues and provide a unique, broadly comparative view on public policy responses in the MENA region. Addressing the implications and public policy responses to the crisis, they bring a critical perspective to the emerging challenges of evidence-based policy making; the locus of authority in transnational issues; the nature of governance; and the role of government and implications for civil society. Tackling the psychology, sociology, education, law, and public policy issues related to the social and economic implications of the COVID 19 pandemic, this book will be of interest to scholars and students alike.

This book critically reflects on the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by exploring the impact and possible future outcomes in a region already struggling with the effects of a decade of uprisings, failed or difficult political transitions, state collapses, civil war and international conflict. International scholars offer a comprehensive treatment of today's major societal issues and provide a unique, broadly comparative view on public policy responses in the MENA region. Addressing the implications and public policy responses to the crisis, they bring a critical perspective to the emerging challenges of evidence-based policy making; the locus of authority in transnational issues; the nature of governance; and the role of government and implications for civil society. Tackling the psychology, sociology, education, law, and public policy issues related to the social and economic implications of the COVID 19 pandemic, this book will be of interest to scholars and students alike.

This book considers Sweden’s pandemic management which differed so significantly from much of the rest of the world: it provoked intense and wide-reaching interest, curiosity and criticism. Trans-disciplinary Swedish authors from the humanities, life sciences, social sciences, and cultural studies use a variety of tools to mine deeper into some of the central elements and dimensions in their country’s pandemic management such as understandings of freedom, the execution of power, denialism, exceptionalism, patriotism, the role of expertise and trust in the national state to give a deeper understanding of Sweden’s decisions, failures, successes, and the lessons to be learned.Aimed at readers with interest in global health and politics it will also be of interest in disciplines such as virology, epidemiology, history, cultural studies, ethics, media studies, medicine and economics.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

This book considers Sweden’s pandemic management which differed so significantly from much of the rest of the world: it provoked intense and wide-reaching interest, curiosity and criticism. Trans-disciplinary Swedish authors from the humanities, life sciences, social sciences, and cultural studies use a variety of tools to mine deeper into some of the central elements and dimensions in their country’s pandemic management such as understandings of freedom, the execution of power, denialism, exceptionalism, patriotism, the role of expertise and trust in the national state to give a deeper understanding of Sweden’s decisions, failures, successes, and the lessons to be learned.Aimed at readers with interest in global health and politics it will also be of interest in disciplines such as virology, epidemiology, history, cultural studies, ethics, media studies, medicine and economics.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Diplomacy, Society and the COVID-19 Challenge brings together authors from various disciplinary backgrounds to examine the impacts of the pandemic on world politics and international relations, focusing on diplomacy and national, regional, and global responses to COVID-19.The authors adopt a critical perspective which questions the general assumption that security is only related to state security. The book’s first part deals with diplomacy and COVID-19, exploring forms such as virtual, digital, and science diplomacy. The second part, on national and regional responses to COVID-19, provides a detailed evaluation of the foreign policies of states and regional actors and the national/regional impacts of the pandemic. The third part investigates the responses of international organisations, such as NATO and the OECD, to COVID-19’s transformative and disruptive effects.This book will be of interest to students, scholars, and researchers of international relations, diplomacy, security studies, global governance, political science, political economy, and global public health, especially those with a particular focus on COVID-19 and how it has changed the world.

Diplomacy, Society and the COVID-19 Challenge brings together authors from various disciplinary backgrounds to examine the impacts of the pandemic on world politics and international relations, focusing on diplomacy and national, regional, and global responses to COVID-19.The authors adopt a critical perspective which questions the general assumption that security is only related to state security. The book’s first part deals with diplomacy and COVID-19, exploring forms such as virtual, digital, and science diplomacy. The second part, on national and regional responses to COVID-19, provides a detailed evaluation of the foreign policies of states and regional actors and the national/regional impacts of the pandemic. The third part investigates the responses of international organisations, such as NATO and the OECD, to COVID-19’s transformative and disruptive effects.This book will be of interest to students, scholars, and researchers of international relations, diplomacy, security studies, global governance, political science, political economy, and global public health, especially those with a particular focus on COVID-19 and how it has changed the world.

This book evaluates the factors behind Mexico’s painful experience with the Covid-19 crisis, a country that ranked fifth in the world for the number of deaths caused by the virus. Through a series of vignettes, its authors point to pandemic politics as the culprit. With a focus on the nexus of global governance and government in the Mexican case, they underline the politicized nature of domestic, international, and transnational responses to the pandemic. The chapters analyse the multiple political dimensions that affected the ability of intergovernmental and governmental authorities to construct timely, effective, and equitable health security against the COVID virus, including symbolic politics, medical populism, global political economy, disease diplomacy, epistemic communities, and federalism. This volume builds an interdisciplinary analysis of the politics of pandemic governance bridging political science, international relations, public policy and public administration, and public health.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.