(Un-)healthy Civil-Military Relations? Militarization of State Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latin America and Asia-Pacific

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries in Asia and Latin America mobilised their armed forces for a broad range of related support activities. However, this military participation occurring in the two regions, even where extensive, did not necessarily threaten democracy and human rights.

This working paper examines the military’s contributions to COVID-19 pandemic responses and their implications for democracy in eight countries in in Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

Why do some subnational units respond better to crises than others, despite having the same constitutional authority to act? This GIGA Focus investigates the cases of four Indian states to identify factors contributing to successful COVID-19 crisis management.