COVID-19 research and writing

The non-discriminate nature of COVID-19, like any biological organism, underscores that the legal boundaries which demarcate states are social constructs that cannot compete against the forces of nature

Marnie Howlett

Yuna Han, Katharine M. Millar and Martin J. Bayly have authored an article which argues that focusing on the individual and collective experiences of death, loss, and grief is key to understanding the politics arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Read COVID-19 as a Mass Death Event.
PhD candidate Frega F Wenas Inkiriwang recently published an article in The National Bureau of Asian Research as part of the new normal series, about Indonesia's and ASEAN's defence diplomacy in adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read Recalibrating Indonesia’s Defense Diplomacy for the New Normal.
PhD candidate Vuk Vuksanovic contributed to an article on vaccine diplomacy with a focus on Serbia in particular in PBS Online.
PhD candidate Asha Herten-Crabb co-authored an article in LSE Public Policy Review making the case for a gender adviser on the UK government’s COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE). This article was also cited in The Guardian. She also co-authored an article on discussions around gender and leadership during COVID-19. Read It's a distraction to focus on the success of individual women leaders during COVID.
PhD candidate Vuk Vuksanovic was cited in a VOA News article, speaking about China's vaccine diplomacy. Read China’s Vaccine Sent to Developing Nations May Find Wary Reception.
Professor Jeffrey Chwieroth has been awarded an LSE Support Fund for his research project 'What shapes public support for COVID-related economic policy interventions? An experimental approach' which will be led in collaboration with academic colleagues from the University of Essex and the University of Melbourne.
Dr Tristen Naylor reflects on the impact of moving the 2020 summit of the G20 online, and the future of digital diplomacy and international summits. Read Diplomacy at a distance: COVID-19's impact on global statecraft.
Dr Ellen Holtmaat has written a blog post on how public goodwill harnessed during the pandemic be leveraged to tackle the climate emergency.
PhD candidate Asha Herten-Crabb has contributed to an article in The Lancet in December 2020 about COVID-19 vaccines and women's security.
PhD candidate Marnie Howlett has published a journal article which explores methodological and epistemological questions around conducting fieldwork remotely through reflections on conducting online research during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read Looking at the ‘field’ through a Zoom lens: Methodological reflections on conducting online research during a global pandemic.
PhD candidate, Frega Wenas Inkiriwang, was one of the key speakers in an online webinar organised by the Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) NTU, Singapore on the subject of "Assessing the Role of TNI in Combating Covid-19 in Indonesia".
Dr Sophie Rosenberg, LSE Fellow, recaps what Covid-19 means for human rights and the rule of law in the United States with a special focus on the unequal effects on minorities and women. Published as a chapter in the latest Bonavero Institute of Human Rights report on COVID-19. Read it here (Chapter 29).
Dr Tristen Naylor has published a new paper in The Hague Journal of Diplomacy examining the implications of summit diplomacy moving online in the COVID era. Read 'All That's Lost: The Hollowing of Summit Diplomacy in a Socially Distanced World'.
Marnie Howlett, PhD candidate, has co-authored a blog article in Routed, the migration and (im)mobility magazine. Read 'Why did/n’t they leave?: Understanding international postgraduate students’ (im)mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic'
Dr Martin J Bayly has written for the LSE COVID-19 blog on 'Fatalism and an absence of public grief: the 1918-19 flu pandemic'. In it he explains how British society attempted to deal with the pandemic, which went uncommemorated even though it killed almost a quarter of a million Britons - many young.
Dr Katharine M Millar, Dr Yuna Han, Dr Martin J Bayly, Katharina Kuhn and Irene Morlino, from our department, have published a report on the political implications of COVID-19 grief and mourning for social order. Their research reveals that the way COVID-19 is officially commemorated will shape our ability to respond to a second wave. Read more about it here.

Read the blog post

Read the full report on 'Confronting the COVID-19 pandemic: grief, loss and social order'.
Dr Jostein Hauge, along with Goitom Gebreluel and Michael Woldemariam, has co-authored a research report on 'COVID-19 in the Horn of Africa: Political and Economic Impacts'. Read more here.
Dr Katharine Millar's new project: "The Challenge of Mass Deaths for Transnational Social Order: Experiencing COVID19" has been awarded a British Academy Small Research Grant.
Professor Peter Trubowitz wrote in an article for the LSE US Centre Blog arguing that as the extra $600 per week afforded by the CARE Act comes to an end, Trump’s poor rating on his COVID-19 response means he can't afford for Congress not to make a deal. Find out more: Why Trump needs Congress to make a deal on the next COVID-19 stimulus package
PhD candidate Asha Herten-Crabb has co-authored "Women are most affected by pandemics — lessons from past outbreaks" for Nature. This commentary presents data showing the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 fall harder on women than on men. It argues that governments need to gather data and target policy to keep all citizens equally safe, sheltered and secure.
MSc IR student Sarah Coolican has written an article for the department blog which asks if Norway’s ethical investing and political focus on public health and human security may reap rewards in the post-coronavirus world: "Is Norway a beacon of hope for the post-COVID-19 world order?"
Professor Chris Alden has co-authored an article on how new South African legislation on animal consumption could inadvertently increase the risk of COVID-19-like diseases and lead to an open season on endangered wildlife. Read the article in The Conversation.
PhD candidate Frega F Wenas Inkiriwang took part in a webinar on "Talking ASEAN - Regional Defence Cooperation amidst COVID-19: Challenges and Opportunities" organised by the Habibie Center. He also published an article in the Jakarta Post on COVID-19 and the Disruption of Defence Diplomacy.
Dr Theresa Squatrito published "Could COVID-19 herald the renewal of international cooperation?" in the LSE COVID-19 blog.
Dr Tristen Naylor and Dr Katharine M Millar contributed to a report for the Parliament Office of Science and Technology on "International affairs and COVID-19: What are experts concerned about?".
PhD candidate Marnie Howlett wrote an article on the intersection between COVID-19, geo-politics, and nationalism. Read "States alone cannot compete against the forces of nature" on the LSE COVID-19 blog.
Atharva Deshmukh (MSc International Political Economy) contributed an article which discusses the impact of COVID-19 on energy transition in India, to Global Risk Insights. Read "India: Impact of COVID-19 on adoption of BS-VI norms".
Charles Dunst (MSc International Relations) published "How the coronavirus pandemic will push developing countries to delink their economies from China" in the South China Morning Post.
PhD candidate Asha Herten-Crabb, along with other researchers from LSE and around the world, is taking part in the Gender and COVID-19 Research Project, which conducts real time gender analysis on impacts of the outbreak and response, identifies gender gaps, and provides guidance to decisionmakers.
Professor William A Callahan published "You can see China from here: the evolution of a border" in The Diplomat.
Dr Mathias Koenig-Archibugi published "The social network of international aid" in Social Science and Medicine.
Dr Mathias Koenig-Archibugi published "Complexity and Institutional Diversity in Global Health Governance: Implications for Asia'" (chapter in compliation).
Professor Chris Alden and Charles Dunst published a review of COVID-19 and the Global South: responses of regional organisations to this transnational challenge on the Global South Unit website.
Dr Katharine Millar, Dr Yuna Han and Dr Martin Bayly's project "The Challenge of mass deaths for social order" has been awarded LSE COVID-19 rapid response funding, which supports research to address global challenges caused by the pandemic.
Professor John Sidel published "What are the challenges faced by urban transport in the Global South?" on the LSE COVID-19 blog.
PhD candidate Asha Herten-Crabb's article "Travel restrictions and infectious disease outbreaks" was published and made 'editor's choice' in the Journal of Travel Medicine.
Dr Milli Lake co-authored "We must work hard to resist a fear of other people’s bodies" for the COVID-19 blog, which reminds us why it is important to remember the importance of physical touch, intimacy and connection to build community, practise resistance, heal from trauma and escape oppression.
PhD candidate David Han's article "China-ASEAN Relations in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A cautionary tale for ASEAN centrality" was published in The Politburo.
Professor Mick Cox, along with Peter Watkins and Linda Yueh from LSE IDEAS wrote "Does globalisation face an existential threat?" in the LSE COVID-19 blog.