Over 2020, LSE LACC will publish a series of policy briefs that analyse how countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have responded to the pandemic.
Our policy briefs will explore and analyse the what, how, and why of the region's more successful approaches, with the ultimate goal of helping to guide research towards those areas that will best enable us to prepare for a (post-)pandemic future.
Authored by faculty members, researchers, and doctoral students at the LSE, we also aim to make these briefs available in Spanish and Portuguese so as to bring their insights to as large an audience as possible within the region itself.
A non-exhaustive list of potential themes includes:
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Health systems – How have different health systems prepared for and responded to the pandemic, and how has this affected their efficacy? For example, systems that emphasise universal health care or greater private provision, coordination with "care" systems, federalised health-delivery structures, or the contribution of primary health care. What does COVID-19 mean for a "right to health"?
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Data – Gauging the scale and transmission of COVID-19, as well as the policy response, havs raised questions about data availability and robustness. In what ways does the pandemic offer opportunities to collect data on less conventional variables, in new ways, or to reconsider how existing data are organised, interpreted, and presented?
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Institutions – What has been the role of institutions such as WHO/PAHO, IADB, World Bank, or civil society, and how will perceptions of performance influence their legitimacy and future role (post-)pandemic?
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Migration – This headline issue of 2019 has scarcely featured in debates on COVID-19 transmission and impact. How have migrants been affected by the pandemic? Are there cases of "positive" government or civil society response?
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Human security – How has the pandemic changed practices or perceptions of policing, militaries, of non-state authority, or meanings of "security" at the crime-health nexus?
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Gender – How have governments and societies adopted gendered responses to COVID-19, including gendered assumptions around lockdown? And what might these mean for gender relations and progressive policies in the future?
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Trust – Where has the pandemic left trust in public institutions? And how have public institutions legitimated existing or new roles amidst the pandemic? How have states built the kind of confidence that is vital to the self-governance required for effective social distancing, or for a possible future push towards austerity?
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Media – How is the pandemic represented? Why does this matter and what implications will this have for social memory, social practices, and/or public policy? In what ways are terms such as "crisis" useful? How has populist rhetoric or scientific jargon inflected public debate? Linked to this, what is the role of the epidemic of fake news and the "infodemic"? Where are people getting their news and how does this affect their decision-making?
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US-China tensions – Many politicians have questioned whether relations with China and/or USA need to be rethought after COVID-19. How realistic are these claims? What will be the implications for trade or foreign direct investment post-pandemic? How might a waning USA or China reconceptualise its "soft power" in the region?
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Small states – What has been the pandemic experience and response in smaller states, including for example the Caribbean, what has been the impact on economies dominated by tourism and agriculture.
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Leaving lockdown – How have countries in Latin America and the Caribbean approached "lifting" the lockdown? What role has been played by technology, social media, and economic policy? What are the predicted outcomes for the economy, polity, or social spheres? What can the rest of the world learn from these?