Peace, Conflict, and COVID-19
from Center for Preventive Action

Peace, Conflict, and COVID-19

Security men wearing protective masks stand on a street during a twenty-four hour curfew that was instituted over concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus in Sanaa, Yemen, on May 6, 2020.
Security men wearing protective masks stand on a street during a twenty-four hour curfew that was instituted over concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus in Sanaa, Yemen, on May 6, 2020. Khaled Abdullah/Reuters

The Center for Preventive Action has created this resource for those seeking information and analysis about the effects of COVID-19 on peace and conflict.

Last updated August 18, 2020 8:00 am (EST)

Security men wearing protective masks stand on a street during a twenty-four hour curfew that was instituted over concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus in Sanaa, Yemen, on May 6, 2020.
Security men wearing protective masks stand on a street during a twenty-four hour curfew that was instituted over concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus in Sanaa, Yemen, on May 6, 2020. Khaled Abdullah/Reuters
Article
Current political and economic issues succinctly explained.

Overview

How will the novel coronavirus pandemic affect the risk of violent conflict and prospects for peace around the world? There is no clear, easy answer—the crisis is still unfolding in surprising ways and assessments about its ramifications shift daily. To complicate matters, the impact of the virus has varied between different regions and conflict zones, making it difficult to render broad judgments about its consequences. Also, what may be relevant for gauging how the coronavirus could increase the risk of an armed confrontation between the major powers will almost certainly be different to assessing how civil unrest could worsen in vulnerable fragile states. The same uncertainty also surrounds current and prospective efforts to manage violent conflict. For every news report of a cease-fire or breakthrough in peace talks there is a corresponding story that details a deteriorating situation. And just as progress in one area can help advance the cause of peace in another, so the reverse is often true.

More From Our Experts

In keeping with its mission to help the general public understand conflict-related issues that affect the United States, as well as contribute to informed policy debate about the best ways to address them, the Center for Preventive Action (CPA) has created this page as a resource for information and analysis about the effects of COVID-19 on peace and conflict. The issues covered below are organized into relatively discrete categories that seek to address U.S. conflict priorities, but are by no means exhaustive—nor are the articles listed representative of all available information and analysis on these topics. This page will be updated weekly.

More on:

Conflict Prevention

COVID-19

United Nations

Refugees and Displaced Persons

Foreign Aid

To explore more background and analysis about the effects of COVID-19 on specific country and regional conflicts, visit CPA's Global Conflict Tracker.

World Order

Hal Brands, "Historian Hal Brands on COVID-19's Effect on World Order," [Podcast] CBS News, September 9, 2020.

Daniel W. Drezner and Elmira Bayrasli, “The COVID-19 World Order,” Project Syndicate, July 28, 2020.

More From Our Experts

Dhruva Jaishankar, Qingguo Jia, and Paul B. Stares, “Virtual Roundtable: World Order After COVID-19: Perspectives From China and India,” CFR Meeting, June 18, 2020.

Alan Crawford, "A New World Order for the Coronavirus Era Is Emerging," Bloomberg, July 9, 2020.

More on:

Conflict Prevention

COVID-19

United Nations

Refugees and Displaced Persons

Foreign Aid

Francis Fukuyama, “The Pandemic and Political Order,” Foreign Affairs, June 9, 2020.

Stewart Patrick, “When the System Fails,” Foreign Affairs, June 9, 2020.

Walter Russell Mead, “The Pandemic: A Global Review,” Hudson Institute, June 9, 2020.

Lee Hsien Loong, “The Endangered Asian Century: America, China, and the Perils of Confrontation,” Foreign Affairs, June 4, 2020.

Paul B. Stares, Qingguo Jia, Nathalie Tocci, Dhruva Jaishankar, and Andrey Kortunov, “Perspectives on a Changing World Order,” Council on Foreign Relations, June 2020.

Mara Mordecai, “How Americans Envision a Post-Pandemic World Order,” Pew Research Center, June 2, 2020.

Jeffrey Cimmino, Matthew Kroenig, and Barry Pavel, “Taking Stock: Where Are Geopolitics Headed in the COVID-19 Era?,” Atlantic Council, June 2020.

Samuel Brannen, Kathleen H. Hicks, Seth G. Jones, Rebecca Hersman, and Todd Harrison, “World Order After COVID-19,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, May 28, 2020.

Challenges of Global Governance Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives From Council of Councils Institutes,” Council on Foreign Relations, May 21, 2020.

Tom McTague, “The Pandemic’s Geopolitical Aftershocks Are Coming,” The Atlantic, May 18, 2020.

Patrick W. Quirk, “The Global Fragility Strategy: Posturing the United States for a Reshaping of World Order,” Brookings Institution, May 15, 2020.

Stephen M. Walt, “Will a Global Depression Trigger Another World War?” Foreign Policy, May 13, 2020.

Stewart M. Patrick, “The World Order After COVID-19 Hinges on What Kind of America Emerges,” World Politics Review, May 11, 2020.

Bruce Jentleson, “Will COVID-19 Transform the Global World Order?” Wilson Center [video], May 7, 2020.

Kevin Rudd, “The Coming Post-COVID Anarchy,” Foreign Affairs, May 6, 2020.

Edward Fishman, “The World Order Is Dead. Here's How to Build a New One for a Post-Coronavirus Era,” Politico Magazine, May 3, 2020.

Robert Malley, “The International Order After COVID-19,” Project Syndicate, April 24, 2020.

Joseph Nye, Jr., “No, the Coronavirus Will Not Change the Global Order,” Foreign Policy, April 16, 2020.

Philip H. Gordon and Jeremy Shapiro, “The Atlantic Alliance Had Preexisting Conditions. The Pandemic Will Worsen Them,” War on the Rocks, April 13, 2020.

Colin H. Kahl and Ariana Berengaut, “Aftershocks: The Coronavirus Pandemic and the New World Disorder,” War on the Rocks, April 10, 2020.

Nathalie Tocci, “How Coronavirus Will Upturn the Global Order,” Politico, April 9, 2020.

Richard N. Haass, “The Pandemic Will Accelerate History Rather Than Reshape It,” Foreign Affairs, April 7, 2020.

Henry Kissinger, “The Coronavirus Pandemic Will Forever Alter the World Order,” Wall Street Journal, April 3, 2020.

Judah Grunstein, “Why the Coronavirus Pandemic Won't Lead to a New World Order,” World Politics Review, April 1, 2020.

Mat Burrows and Peter Engelke, “What World Post-COVID-19? Three Scenarios,” Atlantic Council, April 2020.

Mieke Eoyang, Ilan Goldenberg, and Thanassis Cambanis, “A New World Order After the Pandemic?” TCF World Podcast (podcast), March 23, 2020.

John Allen, et. al, “How the World Will Look After the Coronavirus Pandemic,” Foreign Policy, March 20, 2020.

Kurt Campbell and Rush Doshi, “The Coronavirus Could Reshape Global Order,” Foreign Affairs, March 18, 2020.

Great Power Competition

Diplomacy and Politics

David Sanger, Eric Schmitt, and Edward Wong, “As Virus Toll Preoccupies United States, Rivals Test Limits of America Power,” New York Times, June 1, 2020.

Barry Pavel, “The Coronavirus Is Raising the Likelihood of Great Power Conflict,” Defense One, June 1, 2020.

Matthias von Hein, “Coronavirus Pandemic Further Strains U.S.-China Relations,” Deutsche Welle, June 1, 2020.

Nick Childs, “Great-Power Competition and COVID-19,” Military Balance (blog), May 29, 2020.

Thomas J. Christensen, “A Modern Tragedy? COVID-19 and U.S.-China Relations,” Brookings Institution, May 2020.

Eric B. Brown et al., “A Global Survey of U.S.-China Competition in the Coronavirus Era,” Hudson Institute, May 2020.

Nick Childs, “Great-Power Competition and COVID-19,” International Institute for Strategic Studies, May 29, 2020.

Anthony Cordesman and Grace Hwang, “U.S. Competition With China and Russia: The Crisis-Driven Need to Change U.S. Strategy,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, May 18, 2020.

Richard N. Haass, “A Cold War With China Would Be a Mistake,” Council on Foreign Relations, May 11, 2020.

Daniel W. Drezner, “There Is No China Crisis,” Reason, May 2020.

Alexander Gabuev, “The Pandemic Could Tighten China's Grip on Eurasia,” Foreign Policy, April 23, 2020.

Eugene Chausovsky, “The COVID-19 Era and U.S.-Russian Relations,” Center for Global Policy, April 22, 2020.

Elizabeth Economy, "The Hydra and the Headless Horseman,” Asia Unbound (blog), April 15, 2020.

Michael Green and Evan S. Medeiros, “The Pandemic Won’t Make China the World’s Leader,” Foreign Affairs, April 15, 2020.

Eugene Rumer, “The Coronavirus Won't Make Putin Play Nice,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 14, 2020.

Wendy Cutler and Danny Russel, “Could the Pandemic Ease U.S.-China Tensions?” Foreign Policy, April 6, 2020.

Minxin Pei, “China’s Coming Upheaval,” Foreign Affairs, April 3, 2020.

Evan Feigenbaum, “U.S.-China Coordination Missing in Action on Coronavirus,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 1, 2020.

Six Crises: How the U.S. and China Coordinated Despite Strategic Rivalry,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 2020.

Richard Fontaine, “Virus Competition is Wrecking China-U.S. Cooperation Hopes,” Center for a New American Security, March 20, 2020.

(Dis)Information Operations

Laura Rosenberger and Lindsay Gorman, “How Democracies Can Win the Information Contest,” Washington Quarterly, Summer 2020.

Sarah Kreps and Douglas Kriner, “Good and Bad News About COVID-19 Misinformation,” Scientific American, June 10, 2020.

Laura Rosenberger, “China’s Coronavirus Information Offensive,” Foreign Affairs, April 22, 2020.

Renee DiResta, “For China, the ‘USA Virus’ Is a Geopolitical Ploy,” The Atlantic, April 11, 2020.

Alicia Wanless, “The Coronavirus Is a Boon for Global Propagandists,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 2, 2020.

Economic Friction

COVID-19 to Plunge Global Economy Into Worst Recession Since World War II,” The World Bank, June 8, 2020.

Bruce Stokes, “The World Needs to Prevent Post-Pandemic Economic Conflicts,” German Marshall Fund of the United States, April 22, 2020.

Nicholas Mudler, “The Coronavirus War Economy Will Change the World,” Foreign Policy, March 26, 2020.

Military Responses

Chris Miller and Kevin Bilms, “A Pandemic and an Opportunity: Rethinking Competition During COVID-19 and Beyond,” Modern War Institute, June 5, 2020.

Mathieu Boulegue, “How Is the Russian Military Responding to COVID-19?” War on the Rocks, May 4, 2020.

Rebeccah L. Heinrichs, “The PLA’s Exploitation of the Coronavirus Pandemic,” RealClearDefense, April 15, 2020.

W.J. Hennigan and John Walcott, “Coronavirus Has Hit the U.S. Military and America’s Adversaries Are Seeking Advantage,Time, April 15, 2020.

Joel Wuthnow, “China’s Military Claims to Be Virus-Free,” Foreign Policy, March 20, 2020.

Peter W. Singer, Peter Wood, and Alex Stone, “As Coronavirus Spreads, China’s Military Is Largely MIA,” Defense One, February 6, 2020.

Regional Rivalries and Conflicts

Moosa Elayah, "COVID-19: The Lingering Conflict and the Regional Balance of Power in Yemen," Al Jazeera, July 26, 2020.

Clionadh Raleigh, “The Pandemic Has Shifted Patterns of Conflict in Africa,” Mail and Guardian, June 22, 2020.

Zach Vertin, “Great Power Rivalry in the Red Sea,” Brookings Institution, June 2020.

John Campbell, “Beyond the Pandemic, Boko Haram Looms Large in Nigeria,” Council on Foreign Relations, June 11, 2020.

Katariina Mustasilta, “From Bad to Worse? The Impact(s) of COVID-19 on Conflict Dynamics,” EU Institute for Security Studies, June 11, 2020.

Marco Carnelos, “Coronavirus in the Middle East: A Perfect Storm,” Middle East Eye, June 8, 2020.

Lynn Kuok, “Will COVID-19 Change the Geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific?” International Institute for Strategic Studies, June 4, 2020.

Steven Kenney and Ross Harrison, “Middle East Conflict and COVID-19-A View from 2025,” Middle East Institute, June 2, 2020.

Giulia Sciorati, “Where the Pandemic Hits the Hardest: Fragility, Conflict, and COVID-19,” Italian Institute for International Political Studies, May 30, 2020.

Aleksandr Aksenenok, “The Coronavirus and Conflicts in the Middle East,” Russian International Affairs Council, May 26, 2020.

Husain Haqqani and Aparna Pande, “Crisis From Kolkata to Kabul: COVID-19’s Impact on South Asia,” Hudson Institute, May 26, 2020.

Masoud Mostajabi, “Will COVID-19 Exacerbate or Defuse Conflicts in the Middle East?" Atlantic Council, May 21, 2020.

Oriana Skylar Mastro, “Military Confrontation in the South China Sea,” Council on Foreign Relations, May 21, 2020.

Rhea Menon and Srinath Raghavan, “South Asia’s Battle With the Coronavirus,” Carnegie India, May 21, 2020.

Galip Dalay, “Will COVID-19 Exacerbate or Mitigate Conflicts in Libya and Syria?” Brookings Institution, May 20, 2020.

Ashley Townshend, “China’s Pandemic-Fueled Standoff With Australia,” War on the Rocks, May 20, 2020.

Jack Detsch, “China Uses Pandemic to Boost Military Pressure on Taiwan,” Foreign Policy, May 12,  2020.

Natia Chankvetadze and Ketevan Murusidze, “Challenges of COVID-19 in Areas of Protracted Conflict,” Middle East Institute, May 11, 2020.

Emilia Columbo and Marielle Harris,“Extremist Groups Stepping Up Operations During the COVID-19 Outbreak in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, May 1, 2020.

Paul Haenle, “Security Concerns in Asia-Pacific Escalate Amid Coronavirus Scramble,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 29, 2020.

Ranj Alaaldin, “COVID-19 Will Prolong Conflict in the Middle East,” Order from Chaos (blog), April 24, 2020.

Barry Posen, “Do Pandemics Promote Peace?Foreign Affairs, April 23, 2020.

Marina Ottaway, “The Null Effect of COVID-19 on Conflict: Why Iraq and Yemen Keep Fighting,” Wilson Center Viewpoints, April 23, 2020.

Frances Z. Brown and Jarrett Blanc, “Coronavirus in Conflict Zones: A Sobering Landscape,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 14, 2020.

William B. Taylor, Steven Pifer, and John E. Herbst, “Opinion: The Coronavirus Presents an Opportunity to End War in Ukraine,” NPR, April 6, 2020.

COVID-19 and Conflict: Seven Trends to Watch,” International Crisis Group, March 24, 2020.

Cinzia Bianco, Rene Wildangel, Tarek Megerisi, Julien Barnes-Dacey, Anthony Dworkin, Ellie Geranmayeh, and Hugh Lovatt, “Infected: The Impact of the Coronavirus on the Middle East and North Africa,” European Council on Foreign Relations, March 19, 2020.

Political Instability

Jonathan D. Moyer and Oliver Kaplan, “Will the Coronavirus Fuel Conflict?Foreign Policy, July 6, 2020.

Anubhav Gupta, “In Modi’s India, Rights and Freedoms Erode Further Amid COVID-19,” World Politics Review, June 24, 2020.

Richard Youngs, “How the Coronavirus Tests European Democracy,” Carnegie Europe, June 23, 2020.

Yasir Zaidan, “COVID-19 Threatens to Derail an Unsteady Democratic Transition in Sudan,” World Politics Review, June 23, 2020.

Haiti’s Stability in Peril Without Strong Response to COVID-19, Legal Expert Tells Security Council,” UN Security Council, June 19, 2020.

Brian Harding, “Is Coronavirus Making Southeast Asia More Authoritarian?” United States Institute of Peace, June 18, 2020.

Larry Diamond, “Democracy Versus the Pandemic,” Foreign Affairs, June 13, 2020.

Alexandra Brzozowski, “Civil Unrest Has Doubled, and COVID-19 Could Make Things Worse,” Euractiv, June 10, 2020.

Rachel Brown, Heather Hurlburt, and Alexandra Stark, “How the Coronavirus Sows Civil Conflict,” Foreign Affairs, June 6, 2020.

Maria Victoria Murillo, “Elections and Protests in Latin America: COVID-19’s Impact,” Social Science Research Council, May 28, 2020.

Hamid Rashid, Grigor Agabekian, and Helena Alfonso, “COVID-19 Poses Grievous Economic Challenge to Landlocked Developing Countries,” UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, May 28, 2020.

Dexter Filkins, “The Twilight of the Iranian Revolution,” New Yorker, May 25, 2020.

Amir Asmar, “What’s Driving Lebanon’s Mid-Pandemic Protests?” Council on Foreign Relations, May 20, 2020.

COVID-19 Poses Formidable Threat for Fragile States in the Middle East and North Africa,” International Monetary Fund, May 13, 2020.

Celine Monnier and Habib Mayar, “Making Sure Peace Isn’t a Casualty of COVID-19 in Fragile States,” World Politics Review, May 5, 2020.

Jonathan Masters, “Coronavirus: How Are Countries Responding to the Economic Crisis?” Council on Foreign Relations, May 4, 2020.

Thomas Carothers and David Wong, “The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Reshaping Global Protests,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 4, 2020.

Rick Gladstone, “Oil Collapse and COVID-19 Create Toxic Geopolitical Stew,” New York Times, April 22, 2020.

Oliver Stuenkel, “Latin America Must Act—or Brace for Political Instability,” America’s Quarterly, April 22, 2020.

Landry Signe, “A New Approach Is Needed to Defeat COVID-19 and Fix Fragile States,” Future Development (blog), April 21, 2020.

Peter Knoope, “Eight Reasons Why COVID-19 May Lead to Political Violence,” Clingendael Institute, April 9, 2020.

Corinne Graff, “Don’t Leave Fragile States Behind in the Fight Against Coronavirus,” United States Institute of Peace, March 31, 2020.

Nic Cheeseman, “The Coronavirus Could Topple Governments Around the World,” Foreign Policy, March 31, 2020.

COVID-19 Disorder Tracker,” ACLED.

Refugees, Migration, and Displacement

Qais Alemi, Carl Stempel, Hafifa Siddiq, and Eunice Kim, "Refugees and COVID-19: Achieving a Comprehensive Public Health Response," World Health Organization, 2020.

"COVID-19 Brief: Impact on Refugees," U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, September 14, 2020.

ICC, IOM Launch COVID-19 Guidance for the Protection of Migrants,” International Organization for Migration, August 10, 2020.

Gladson Dungdung, “India’s Coronavirus Refugees Are Also Development Refugees,” Scientific American, June 20, 2020.

Emily Ding, “Malaysia’s Coronavirus Scapegoats,” Foreign Policy, June 19, 2020.

Marie Penelope Nezurugo and Sameera Hassan, “On World Refugee Day, a Look at How COVID-19 Is Affecting Refugees and Asylum-Seekers,” World Economic Forum, June 19, 2020.

Larry Luxner, “Facing Twin Crises of COVID-19 and Climate Change, Refugees Will Suffer Most,” New Atlanticist (blog), June 19, 2020.

David M. Beasley, “The Looming Hunger Pandemic,” Foreign Affairs, June 16, 2020.

COVID-19 Brief: Impact On Refugees,” U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, updated June 8, 2020.

Policy Brief: COVID-19 and People on the Move,” United Nations, June 2020.

Dorien Braam and Petra Molnar, “Refugees at Increased Risk of Coronavirus Due to Barriers to Healthcare,” The Conversation, May 27, 2020.

Jackson Diehl, “The Nutrition Crisis of COVID-19 Will Be Even Worse Than the Disease,” Washington Post, May 24, 2020.

Sam Mednick, “Syrian Refugee Woman Face New COVID-19 Battleground,” The New Humanitarian, May 12, 2020.

Nendirmwa Noel, “Minorities, Migrants, and Social Exclusion During COVID-19,” Center on International Cooperation, May 12, 2020.

Kimberly Dozier, “Refugee Boats Stranded at Sea Show How COVID-19 Is Making Threatened Groups More Vulnerable,” Time, April 28, 2020.

Irina A. Faskianos, Rachel Levitan, and Muhammad Zaman, “COVID-19’s Effect on Displaced Peoples,” CFR Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call, April 23, 2020. 

Samuel Volkin, “How Are Refugees Affected by COVID-19?” Johns Hopkins University Hub, April 20, 2020.

Audrey Wilson, “The Coronavirus Threatens Some More Than Others,” Foreign Policy, April 14, 2020.

John Letzing, “How COVID-19 Is Throttling Vital Migration Flows,” World Economic Forum, April 8, 2020.

COVID-19 and the Displaced: Addressing the Threat of the Novel Coronavirus in Humanitarian Emergencies,” Refugees International, March 30, 2020.

Wendy Williams, “COVID-19 and Africa’s Displacement Crisis,” Africa Center for Strategic Studies, March 25, 2020.

U.S. Foreign Policy

Ryan Ashley and Abby Bard, “How America Can Maintain Its Alliances Even During the Coronavirus Pandemic,” The National Interest, June 23, 2020.

Frances Z. Brown and Megan Doherty, “How the United States Can Address Global Fragility in a Pandemic,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, June 4, 2020.

Robert D. Blackwill and Thomas Wright, The End of World Order and American Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations, May 2020.

COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment—Overview of Issues and Further Reading for Congress,” Congressional Research Service, updated May 28, 2020.

Raphael S. Cohen, “America’s Post-COVID-19 Foreign Policy,” The Hill, May 25, 2020.

Stewart M. Patrick, “COVID-19, and Climate Change, Will Change the Definition of National Security,” World Politics Review, May 18, 2020.

Conflict, Competition, and COVID-19 With Michael Horowitz,” The Global Cable (podcast), May 15, 2020.

Corinne Graff and Amanda Long, “New Efforts to Address Conflict and Coronavirus Align,” United States Institute of Peace, May 6, 2020.

Mona Yacoubian, “The Coronavirus Crisis Could Reshape U.S. Policy in the Middle East,” United States Institute of Peace, April 30, 2020.

James M. Lindsay, “U.S. Global Leadership Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic, With Philip H. Gordon,” The President's Inbox (podcast), April 28, 2020.

Jack Detsch and Robbie Gramer, “The Coronavirus Could Upend Trump’s China Trade Deal,” Foreign Policy, April 21, 2020.

Karen Donfried and Wolfgang Ischinger, “The Pandemic and the Toll of Transatlantic Discord,” Foreign Affairs, April 18, 2020.

Nahal Toosi, “Trump Hobbles Foreign Aid as Coronavirus Rips Around the World,” Politico, April 15, 2010.

Philip H. Gordon, “'America First’ Is a Dangerous Fantasy in a Pandemic,” Foreign Affairs, April 4, 2020.

Kirsten Fontenrose, “U.S. Strategy in Iraq and the Coronavirus Plot Twist,” New Atlanticist (blog), March 26, 2020.

U.S. National Security

Planning and Operations

Robert M. Gates, “The Overmilitarization of American Foreign Policy,” Foreign Affairs, July/August 2020. 

Chris Field, Alice Hill, Les Williams, Carlos Curbelo, and Michael Sfraga, “Building Greater Resilience for U.S. National Security,” Wilson Center Event, June 23, 2020.

Walter M. Hudson, “Geoeconomic Strategy in the COVID Era,” The American Interest, June 17, 2020.

Anne-Marie Slaughter, “Redefining National Security for the Post-Pandemic World,” Project Syndicate, June 3, 2020.

Benjamin H. Friedman, “Restraint: A Post-COVID-19 U.S. National Security Strategy,” Defense Priorities, May 2020.

Sue Gordon, “The Coronavirus Should Change the Way We Look at National Security,” CNBC, May 28, 2020.

Top U.S. General on COVID-19, Reorienting for Great Power Competition [Interview with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley],” NPR, May 8, 2020.

Kathleen J. McInnis, “COVID-19: National Security and Defense Strategy,” Congressional Research Service, April 30, 2020.

David E. Sanger, “Analysis: Will Pandemic Make Trump Rethink National Security?New York Times, April 15, 2020.

Steven Metz, “The U.S. Military Will Feel the Impact of COVID-19 for Decades to Come,” World Politics Review, April 2, 2020.

Helene Cooper, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, and Eric Schmitt, “Prepare for War or Fight Coronavirus? U.S. Military Battles Competing Instincts,” New York Times, April 1, 2020.

Kathleen H. Hicks and Joseph Federici, “Regaining Lost Ground: Defense Support in the Coronavirus Pandemic,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, March 20, 2020.

Jacob Stoil and Bethany Landeck, “War in the Time of Coronavirus: To Prepare for Great Power Conflict, Plan for Epidemics,” Modern War Institute, March 12, 2020.

Mark Cancian, “How Coronavirus Could Hurt U.S. Military Readiness,” Forbes, March 11, 2020.

Defense Spending

Catherine Lutz and Neta C. Crawford, “Too Much Military Spending Got Us Into This Mess,” Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, June 7, 2020.

Gordon Adams, “Cutting Our Excessive Defense Budget Post-COVID-19 Will Be Difficult. Here’s How to Do It,” Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, May 29, 2020.

Eric Gomez, Christopher A. Preble, Lauren Sander, and Brandon Valeriano, “Building a Modern Military: The Force Meets Geopolitical Realities,” CATO Institute, May 26, 2020.

Steven Pifer, “Weapons, Opportunity Costs, COVID19 and Avoiding Nuclear War,” The National Interest, May 11, 2020.

Anthony H. Cordesman, “The Coronavirus and Changes in the FY2021 Budget: Keeping Cuts in American Defense Spending in Perspective,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, April 7, 2020.

Daniel Egel, Howard J. Shatz, Krishna B. Kumar, and Ted Harshberger, “Defense Budget Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic,” RealClearDefense, April 7, 2020.

International Conflict Prevention Efforts

Trends

Richard Atwood, “A Year of COVID and Conflict: What the Pandemic Did and Didn’t Do,” International Crisis Group, April 2, 2021.

Richard Gowan and Ashish Pradhan, “Salvaging the Security Council's Coronavirus Response,” International Crisis Group, August 4, 2020.

Melinda Gates, “The Pandemic's Toll on Women: COVID-19 Is Gender-Blind But Not Gender-Neutral,” Foreign Affairs, July 15, 2020.

Zia Khan and John McArthur, “Rebuilding Toward the Great Reset: Crisis, COVID-19, and the Sustainainable Development Goals,” Up Front (blog), June 19, 2020.

Horsemen of the Apocalypse: COVID-19 Raises the Risks of Violent Conflict,” Economist, June 18, 2020.

Richard Gowan, “What’s Happened to the UN Secretary-General’s COVID-19 Ceasefire Call?” International Crisis Group, June 16, 2020.

David Kampf, “How COVID-19 Could Increase the Risk of War,” World Politics Review, June 16, 2020.

Corinne Graff, “COVID-19 and Conflict: Implications for Fragile Societies,” Olive Branch (blog), June 4, 2020.

Prevention: Violence Against Women and Girls and COVID-19,” UN Women, June 2020.

Amid COVID-19, Strong Multilateral System Key to Delivering for World’s Most Vulnerable, European Union Foreign Policy Chief Tells Security Council,” United Nations, May 28, 2020.

Patrick W. Quirk and Jason Fritz, “Contested Stabilization: Competing in Post-Conflict Spaces,” Order from Chaos (blog), May 26, 2020.

Anthony Navone, “The Dangers of Coronavirus in Conflict Zones,” United States Institute of Peace, May 19, 2020.

Richard Gowan and Ashish Pradhan, “Is All Hope Lost for a Global Cease-Fire Resolution at the UN?” World Politics Review, May 14, 2020.

Adam Miller, “Call Unanswered: A Review of Responses to the Appeal for a Global Ceasefire,” ACLED, May 13, 2020.

Anastasia Kalinina, “What the World Can Learn from Regional Responses to COVID-19,” New Atlanticist (blog), April 24, 2020. 

Timothy Sisk, “COVID-19 and Armed Conflict: What We Know and Why We Should Worry,” Political Violence at a Glance, April 23, 2020.

Antonio Guterres, “We Are All in This Together: Human Rights and COVID-19 Response and Recovery,” United Nations, April 23, 2020.

Sook Jong Lee, “COVID-19 Infects International Organisations,” East Asia Forum, April 21, 2020.

Matthias Matthijs, “COVID-19 and a Splintered European Union,” Johns Hopkins University Hub, April 10, 2020.

Colum Lynch, “Can the United Nations Survive Coronavirus?” Foreign Policy, April 8, 2020.

Celine Monnier, “Responding to COVID-19: The Need for Conflict Sensitivity,” NYU Center on International Cooperation, April 7, 2020.

Cedric de Coning, “How COVID-19 Is Impacting the African Union's Operations,” Africa Portal, April 6, 2020.

Rick Gladstone, “UN Security Council “Missing in Action” in Coronavirus Fight,” New York Times, April 2, 2020.

Quint Forgey, “UN Calls for Global Response to Pandemic,” Politico, April 1, 2020.

Economic Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak on ASEAN [PDF],” ASEAN, April 2020.

Stewart M. Patrick, “The Multilateral System Still Cannot Get Its Act Together on COVID-19,” The Internationalist (blog), March 26, 2020.

Colum Lynch, “UN Diplomacy in the Age of Contagion,” Foreign Policy, March 18, 2020.

How is the United Nations Responding to the COVID-19 Outbreak?” United Nations.

Humanitarian Aid and Development Assistance

Larry Cooley and Johannes F. Lin, “Developing Countries Can Respond to COVID-19 in Ways That Are Swift, at Scale, and Successful,” Brookings Institution, June 4, 2020.
 
Ben Parker, “COVID-19 Aid Funding: The Many Pots and Pitfalls,” The New Humanitarian, June 3, 2020.

Conflict Sensitivity in Responses to COVID-19: Initial Guidance and Reflections [PDF],” Saferworld, May 2020. 

Diana Roy, “Will the Coronavirus Endanger Foreign Aid?” Council on Foreign Relations, April 24, 2020.

Anticipating the Impacts of COVID-19 in Humanitarian and Food Crisis Contexts [PDF],” United Nations, April 4, 2020.

Jacob Kurtzer, “The Impact of COVID-19 on Humanitarian Crises,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, March 19, 2020.

Peacekeeping Operations and Support

Jamille Bigio, “UN Peacekeeping Recognizes That Women Are Key to Lasting Peace Amid COVID-19,” Women Around the World (blog), June 2, 2020.

Charles T. Hunt and Adam Day, “Why COVID-19 Offers a Chance to Transform UN Peacekeeping,” Conversation, May 28, 2020.

Cedric de Coning, “Examining the Longer-Term Effects of COVID-19 on UN Peacekeeping Operations,” IPI Global Observatory, May 13, 2020.

Cedric de Coning, “The Impact of COVID-19 on Peace Operations,” IPI Global Observatory, April 2, 2020.

CFR Fellows and Staff on COVID-19 and Conflict

Andrea Jenkins, Jason Socrates Bardi, and Thomas J. Bollyky, "Racism as a Public Health Crisis," ThinkGlobalHealth, September 8, 2020.

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