News and views from the Blavatnik School of Government community 
COVID-19 attacks the human body, but it is largely the body politic that defends us against it. While we wait for vaccines and treatments, we depend on health systems, governments, and the actions of others to detect the virus, control its spread, and break the chain of infection. But our […]
The devastating toll of the coronavirus pandemic has ignited a debate about the intersection of public health and national security. Once recognised as global leaders in pandemic preparedness, the United States and the United Kingdom have struggled to integrate policy responses to COVID-19 into existing security frameworks and to allocate resources accordingly. Indeed, public health spending in both countries pales in comparison to spending on counter-terrorism, even though more America lives have […]
In announcing the merger of the Department for International Development (DfID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Boris Johnson has not created a centaur, with the hindquarters of a development agency and the head of a diplomatic service, but a puggle: an entirely new animal. Merging two departments does […]
In the past term, through the magic of video conferencing, students in the MPP module of Applied Behavioural Public Policy have explored a variety of ways in which behavioural science has been used in public policy to influence people – from getting them to pay their taxes on time, to […]
As the world seeks to “build back better” from the COVID-19 crisis, and as China seeks a political re-set with the world, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) must adapt to a new reality. If China embraces and enforces social and environmental standards, its financial support can play a major […]
After COVID-19 there is a risk the world could be yet more divided, conflictual and nationalistic. But an alternative scenario is within reach. In this scenario, collective action within communities and, where necessary, internationally, will make a more rapid and peaceful exit from the crisis possible. The high-risk scenario […]
Even in ‘normal’ times, there’s nothing ordinary about the pace of innovation at the Blavatnik School. This was a school created to take on some of the biggest public policy challenges of our time, including climate change, inequality, extremism and corruption. So, when the COVID-19 crisis hit, it wasn’t surprising […]
The COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented threat to both public health and the global economy. Only by ditching nationalist rhetoric and policies, and embracing stronger international cooperation, can governments protect the people they claim to represent. The world that emerges from the coronavirus pandemic may be a warring collection of […]