The Security Policy Implications of the Coronavirus Crisis
Over the next two years, the CSS will study the medium- and long-term consequences of the coronavirus pandemic in the framework of two research projects. The emphasis will be on crisis management at the national and international levels as well as the implications of the crisis for international relations and for national and international security policy.
New Special Theme Page:The Security Policy Implications of the Coronavirus Crisis
There can be no question that the coronavirus pandemic is one of the greatest global challenges the international community of states has faced since the Second World War. Around the globe, states are taking recourse to drastic measures in order to stem the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the COVID-19 lung disease that it causes: Borders are being closed, exports of vital goods are prohibited, personal liberties and rights are curtailed, civil defense and military forces are being mobilized, and enormous bailouts to support entire economies are being implemented.
While the long-term effects of the pandemic are still difficult to assess, there is no doubt that the crisis will have enduring consequences for national and international security policy as well. Looking beyond day-to-day politics and news cycles, comprehensive analytical evaluations of the current situation and its medium- and long-term outcomes are required. The CSS takes on this responsibility as the national center of competence for Swiss and international security policy: In the next two years, we will commit ourselves to providing in-depth analysis of the coronavirus crisis in the framework of two research projects and support our partners through independent, evidence-based, and practice-oriented research, teaching, and consultancy.
Project 1: National and international crisis management in the coronavirus crisis
How have various states responded to the global spread of the coronavirus? How does Switzerland’s crisis management compare to that of other states? How did various ministries, the federal government, the cantons, and the municipalities, as well as representatives of the state and civil society coordinate their activities? What implications can be drawn from this crisis for the future supply of vital goods and services, for risk and crisis communication, for social resilience, and for protection against hazards in cyberspace? How should regulations governing certain medical processes and research collaboration in the medical sphere be adapted?
Researchers from all of the CSS’s core themes will be dealing with these issues over the next two years. The research conducted in the framework of this project will be based on decades of experience and expertise in the fields of socio-technical resilience and disaster preparedness.
Project 2: The effects of the coronavirus crisis on international relations and on national and international security policy
The coronavirus crisis poses a challenge to states not only in the field of crisis management, but also in the ways in which it transforms their mutual relations. The struggle against the virus is being framed as a competition between political systems. Does the crisis offer further evidence of the decline of the US as a regulatory power in global politics? Are China’s actions designed to bolster its international leadership claim? What will remain of the European unification project by the end of the crisis?
In its second research project, the CSS will analyze the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the international order and on national and international security policy. The focus will be not only on geo-economic and geopolitical implications, but also on its impact on international conflicts and attempts at resolving them, on multilateralism and international cooperation, on technology governance and science diplomacy, and on global healthcare policy and the WHO. This project, too, will involve CSS researchers from a variety of core research themes.
Publications, media contributions, and dialog platforms on the coronavirus crisis
In the coming months, we will disseminate the results of both projects by making available the resulting publications, dialog platforms, and consultancy products. Already today, some of our publications and media contributions contribute to a better understanding of the pandemic. These and all other publications that are relevant to the ongoing crisis are collated on our new topical page dealing with the security policy implications of the coronavirus crisis.
The two most current blog posts deal with the following topics
- Distancing, But Not Socially. How resilience can help cope with the corona pandemic
- EU Foreign Direct Investment Screening: Protecting Strategic Assets and Technology During the Corona Crisis
We have also begun to evaluate the impacts of the crisis in the framework of a new Brown Bag Seminar Series. The first webinar on “Protecting the Vulnerable, Strengthening Resilience: COVID-19 and Lessons Learned from Previous Crises” will take place on 16 April 2020. Additional webinars will be held on 30 April on US-China Relations and the Specter
of Great Power War and 14 May on the origin of the coronavius, possible vaccines and the efficiency of face masks.
We sincerely hope our analyses and assessments will be of interest to you.
New Special Theme Page:The Security Policy Implications of the Coronavirus Crisis