Experts in the News

Topic
IJEH

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in complex humanitarian crises

Over 168 million people across 50 countries are estimated to need humanitarian assistance in 2020 [1]. Response to epidemics in complex humanitarian crises—such as the recent cholera epidemic in Yemen and the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo—is a global health challenge of increasing scale [2]. The thousands of Yemeni and Congolese who have died in these years-long epidemics demonstrate the difficulty of combatting even well-known pathogens in humanitarian settings. The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) may represent a still greater threat to those in complex humanitarian crises, which lack the infrastructure, support, and health systems to mount a comprehensive response. Poor governance, public distrust, and political violence may further undermine interventions in these settings.
David Leblang
San Francisco Chronicle

While Trump commands the coronavirus stage, Joe Biden is playing a bit part

In one way, the suspended campaign may be “a blessing in disguise” for Biden, said presidential historian Barbara Perry. He should take advantage of the lull to rest and work on building up his fundraising network, she said. “The problem is if people just take their eye off of him completely, if all the primary contests are postponed or Bernie drops out,” said Perry, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. “There goes your free media.”
Barbara Perry
WNYC

Governing, the Economy, and Coronavirus

During times of crisis, people look to the President. A strong show of leadership has the power to calm nerves and reassure audiences that everything will be okay. Professor Barbara Perry is the Presidential Studies Director at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. Professor Perry weighs in on what the role of the president has been historically and what lessons can be applied to the ongoing pandemic.
Barbara Perry
War on the Rocks

How the endless war came home

Companies working for the U.S. military invented duct tape. And Silly Putty. And undershirts. The military needed waterproof tape to seal ammunition boxes, a synthetic rubber substitute to compensate for rubber shortages, and something to protect uniforms from wear and tear. Military necessity drove these and other technological advances, which were tailored to the enemies the military was fighting and the nature of conflict at the time. The endless war against al-Qaeda and its associates has similarly fostered a range of technological inventions or advancements, driven by the nature of the foes America has been fighting for two decades.
Ashley Deeks