Biopolitics: Power, Pandemics and War

COVID-19 and the subsequent global response has had a profound impact on the public health, economic health, and political health in nearly every country. The impact of the pandemic has been particularly acute in active warzones where the ability to enforce public health recommendations, to provide for the care of patients, to secure supplies, and transmit information are all undermined. This paper examines the biopolitics of power and pandemics in war. The paper is rooted in three case studies, the Spanish Influenza Outbreak of 1918-1920 and the COVID-19 outbreak and response in Syria, and Eastern Ukraine. The central question posed is how does war influence the biopolitics of public health in active warzones?