COVID-19’s National Security and Defence Lessons : Key Takeaways for Australia and India

John Coyne

Authors

John Coyne Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Canberra, Australia

Keywords:

India, Australia, International Relations, Military, Indo-Pacific, Asia

Abstract

Since February 2020 hardly a day has gone by where a national security academic or policymaker has not used the word ‘unprecedented' to describe global affairs in the age of COVID-19. The pandemic has created tectonic shifts in the globe's economic, social, political, and International plates. With a vaccine yet to be found, there is increasing evidence that COVID-19's second-order impacts have assured one thing: further uncertainty in International affairs. The crisis after the crisis of COVID-19 is yet to take shape, but it is coming. To prepare for what could well be a decade or more of strategic uncertainty, countries like Australia and India need to consider COVID-19s national security lessons and how these might impact on assumptions regarding preparation for what comes next. This paper explores some of the COVID-19s initial national security lessons for Australia and India.

Author Biography

John Coyne, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Canberra, Australia

Dr. John Coyne is head of the North and Australia’s Security Program at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute Canberra, Australia. Peter Jennings and Dr. John Coyne were editors and chapter authors for the institute’s book After Covid-19: Australia and the world rebuild (Volume 1).