2020 was the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the most significant global pandemic since the ‘Spanish flu’ in 1918-1919. This book provides an analysis of the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic in a range of Commonwealth countries during 2020, covering public health, political, economic and international aspects. The Commonwealth, within which about one quarter of the world’s population resides, provides a cross-section of the global experience of COVID-19. The Commonwealth ranges from highly populated countries such as India and Nigeria, to small island states and territories, encompassing also advanced industrialised countries and developing countries. The grouping also extends into many different regions of the world: Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Europe, the Americas and Oceania. In the first year of the pandemic, vaccines were still under development and national response strategies chosen by Commonwealth countries were diverse, spanning eradication, elimination, suppression and mitigation. The chapters in this book show the ways in which governments from a selection of Commonwealth countries responded to the multiple dimensions of the crisis, pointing to the factors that led to effective or less effective policies. This book originally appeared as a special issue of The Round Table.

COVID-19 has resulted in changes none of us could have imagined, but what happens next? If you had asked most people a year ago, they would have told you there was no way that school children could shift overnight to online learning; that it was impossible for banks to offer mortgage holidays; impossible to double unemployment benefits; impossible to house rough sleepers or put a hold on evictions; impossible to offer wages subsidies and definitely impossible to get Australians to stay home from the beach and the pub. But we did it. In Upturn Tanya Plibersek brings together some of the country's most interesting thinkers who are ready to imagine a better Australia, and to fight for it. It is a compelling vision for a stronger economy, a fairer society and a more environmentally sustainable future. 'This book is the breath of fresh air we all need so desperately right now. It challenges us to be bold in the face of the COVID-19 crisis and actively work for a future that is stronger, fairer, more innovative and genuinely inclusive. Inspiring and insightful, this book blends familiar and new voices into a powerful call to action.' — Julia Gillard 'Tanya Plibersek's book postulates a turning point for Australia, a positive which is capable of emerging from the COVID pandemic: a victory from the jaws of defeat proposition. This view is informed by thoughtful contributions from people who know that imagination, inclusion and equity are the pathways to a national renewal – a renewal, in the unlikely event, brought on by a microbe.' — Paul Keating

This book considers the global response on governance after the pandemic while sociologically addressing the effects of COVID-19 on life and work experience. It presents the effects of COVID-19 on global and local labour markets, the development of digitisation and technology, of work health, and on the environment with respect to global warming and climate change. Linking COVID-19 to the progress of globalisation, the book considers the spread of the pandemic and its management as a response to neoliberalism. The book analyses national and international governance models for tackling future outcomes of emerging global issues such as technology, green industry and environment that may inform future management of global crises. As such, it will be of interest to scholars in the field of Global Studies, Governance, International Relations, Political Science, Complexity Studies, Environment Studies, Sociology, Disaster Management and Occupational Health.

Does history repeat itself in meaningful ways, or is each problem unique? How can a knowledge of Australian history enhance our understanding of the present and prepare us for the future? Lessons from History is written with the conviction that we must see the world, and confront its many challenges, with an understanding of what has gone before. A diverse range of historians, including Graeme Davison, Yves Rees, Joan Beaumont, Ann Curthoys, Mahsheed Ansari, Peter Spearritt and Frank Bongiorno, tackles the biggest challenges that face Australia and the world and shows how the past provides context and insight that can guide us today and tomorrow. ‘Know the past to change the future. Insightful essays by leading historians on the complex back stories of some of our most vexed policy challenges.’ – Judith Brett ‘Lessons from History makes a formidable case for the contemporary real-world relevance, in both national and international policymaking, of deep historical understanding. Hugh White’s account of the lessons of 1914 and 1939 for today’s would-be warriors – just one of twenty-two invariably thought-provoking essays – is alone worth the purchase price. A rich and rewarding collection which should be read by anyone concerned for Australia’s future.’ – Gareth Evans ‘For several decades now our national mentality has been dominated by economists and culture warriors. Few dare stand up to them. In this book, our top historians begin the fightback. As the pandemics, recessions, extremism and wars of the twentieth century return, the history profession announces its intention to re-enter the public sphere to help create a better future – and not a moment too soon. Lessons from History is the statement of intent all believers in the importance of this crucial discipline have been waiting for.’ – Dennis Glover ‘When devising policies to address everything from climate change, to racial justice and gender equality, to war and conflict, history and historical thinking are not only relevant, this book shows they are essential.’ – Phillipa McGuinness ‘A book for the times – an astute contribution to public debate. In twenty-two lively and eminently readable essays leading historians present a compelling case for the importance of history to add span, depth, context and above all wisdom to our policy making repertoire.’ – Henry Reynolds

What kind of future do Australians have? Until the coronavirus pandemic, nearly two-thirds of Australians had never experienced an economic slump in their working lives. Indeed, nearly half were not yet born when the Australian economy last tipped into recession. Creating a path for Australia through these difficult times requires a careful assessment of where we have come from, where we are, and where we are going. This book, by one of Australia's leading economic voices, examines the fractured state of the global economy and financial system, the ailing US economy and its epic contest with China, the global economic order, and what it all means for us.

As the South African economy emerges from the downturn induced by COVID-19, policy makers are concerned with recovery, reconstruction, and transformation. This paper focuses on the recovery from the severely depressed levels of economic activity that occurred in April 2020. However, before considering the period after the economic trough of April 2020, a mention of economic conditions prior to the pandemic is worthwhile. In brief, economic performance was terrible by almost any metric. Furthermore, economic performance had been poor since 2008, with evidence pointing to ongoing deterioration culminating in the fourth quarter of 2019, when per capita GDP contracted, unemployment ticked upwards to its highest level since 1994, productivity declined, and inequality worsened. The striking difficulties of the South African economy in avoiding/absorbing shocks-whether internally generated, such as shocks to electricity supply, or externally generated, such as changes in terms of trade or investor sentiment in relation to emerging markets-have been an integral part of this disappointing economic performance over time. In short, the situation prevailing prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was one of economic weakness. Beginning from this position of weakness, the economic shock related to COVID-19 was enormous, likely the largest single economic shock in the history of South Africa. According to official statistics, GDP in the second quarter of 2020 was approximately 17% below the level registered in the second quarter of 2019. In assessing this shock, it is important to recall that GDP is a flow concept. One can, in principle, consider the volume of flow over any arbitrary period: a day, a week, a month, a quarter, a semester, a year, and so forth. The lockdown associated with COVID-19 precipitated an extraordinarily rapid decline in economic activity. Indeed, the available analytics and data point to a trough in economic activity, or flow value of GDP, at less than 70% of the level that would have pertained in the absence of the pandemic, or a greater than 30% decline in the flow rate of GDP (Arndt et al 2020). If we accept a 17% reduction as the average flow rate of GDP over the quarter and we accept that the economic shock related to COVID-19 was unprecedently rapid and drove a decline in the flow value of GDP of much more than 17% at the trough (which probably occurred sometime in late April or early May), then we must also accept a rapid recovery in economic activity in May and June in order to achieve an average decline of 17% over the quarter. Furthermore, this relatively rapid recovery continued. GDP in the third quarter of 2020 was “only” about 6% below the levels recorded for the third quarter of 2019, with the corresponding figure for the fourth quarter at about 4%. Other figures, including recent ones, broadly support this basic story. For example, retail sales in February 2021 were up 2.4% year-on-year, with the previous two months, January and December, having registered only a slight decline year-on-year. Correspondingly, manufacturing production and sales were down by 2.1% in February 2021 year-on-year. A few broad observations emerge from this history and the available data. First, the South African economy has exhibited more resilience to the COVID-19 shock than performance up to December 2019 might have led one to expect. In Mexico, for example, the distance between fourth quarter GDP in 2020 and that in 2019 was greater than for the same comparison in South Africa. At the same time, Mexico registered close to twice as many deaths related to COVID-19 per million population as South Africa. Second, multiplier effects are important. As discussed in Arndt et al (2020), multiplier effects accounted for the bulk of the initial economic contraction. However, they also operate positively, buoying the recovery experienced to date and bringing economic activity back towards the levels of 2019. Third, while having GDP about 4% down year-on-year is much better than the 17% decline observed in the second quarter, 4% down is still a deep recession by ordinary standards. While some sectors are producing at close to levels observed in the fourth quarter of 2019, others are more strongly affected. The incidence of these depressed levels of economic activity remains likely to be tilted toward lower-income households, which are more vulnerable to begin with. Overall, there remains substantial slack in the economy, multiplier effects still apply, and many households remain deeply vulnerable to severe economic hardship.

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a critical juncture in the development of the welfare state affirming its importance for its citizens’ economic, health and wellbeing, and safety, especially for its most vulnerable populations. It demonstrated that the crisis preparedness that is crucial for an effective protection of its citizens, the ultimate purpose of the welfare state, unquestionably exceeds the narrow horizon of a corporatised welfare industry with its singular focus on the maximisation of profit for the elites and cost containment for the government. Social workers need to engage with the contradictions and tensions that spring from underfunded welfare services and engage in the political struggle over a well-resourced welfare state. Contributors to this book take on this challenge. By tracing the various contradictions of the pandemic, the contributors reflect on new ways of thinking about welfare by exploring what to keep, what to challenge and what to change. By highlighting important challenges for a social justice-focused response as well as exploring the many challenges exposed by the pandemic facing social work for the coming decades, contributors critically outline pathways in social work that might contribute to the shaping of a less cruel and more capable welfare state. Using case-studies from Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia, Italy, Slovenia, Estonia, Sweden, Spain, South Africa, Canada, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, China and the United States, the book features 19 chapters by leading experts. This book will be of interest to all social work scholars, students and practitioners, as well as those working in social policy and health more broadly.

Are pandemics the end of cities? Or, do they present an opportunity for us to reshape cities in ways making us even more innovative, successful and sustainable? Pandemics such as COVID-19 (and comparable disruptions) have caused intense debates over the future of cities. Through a series of investigative studies, Designing Smart and Resilient Cities for a Post-Pandemic World: Metropandemic Revolution seeks to critically discuss and compare different cases, innovations and approaches as to how cities can utilise nascent and future digital technology and/or new strategies in order to build stronger resilience to better tackle comparable large-scale pandemics and/or disruptions in the future. The authors identify ten separate societal areas where future digital technology can impact resilience. These are discussed in individual chapters. Each chapter concludes with a set of proposed "action points" based on the conclusions of each respective study. These serve as solid policy recommendations of what courses of action to take, to help increase the resilience in smart cities for each designated area. Securing resilience and cohesion between each area will bring about the metropandemic revolution. This book features a foreword by Nobel laureate Peter C. Doherty and an afterword by Professor of Urban Technologies, Carlo Ratti. It provides fresh and unique insights on smart cities and futures studies in a pandemic context, offers profound reflections on contemporary societal functions and the needs to build resilience and combines lessons learned from historical pandemics with possibilities offered by future technology.

This volume explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health, safety, and socioeconomic well-being of community residents of selected countries around the world. It is built on an overarching framework of studying community well-being, applied here to the analyses of one of the most significant crises of our time. Most important are the lessons learned from the experiences in these countries – including insights and recommendations on how to mitigate future pandemics. Building on years of research, each chapter is written by an accomplished scholar with interests and expertise on various assessments of community well-being development in the country of study. The authors share cases and analyses, and highlight failures and successes; they offer sound policy recommendations on how to restore the health, safety, and multidimensional wellness of community residents, and how to decrease the likelihood and impact of future crises. Some of the policy recommendations in this multi-country compendium can be used to assist crisis prevention and recovery, beyond pandemics. The volume shows how the lessons learned and shared from community responses to the pandemic can provide critical and useful policy insights to shape best practices in mitigating other disasters like hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, wars, riots, acts of domestic and international terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and industrial accidents. This is a must-read for researchers across the social sciences, health sciences, and management studies, and for government and non-government professionals involved in community health and well-being.

Commendation, the Colvin Prize 2023 (Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain) Reconstruction explores the impact of the First World War on the built environment – examining the immediate and longer term aftermath of the Great War on the architecture of Britain and the British Empire during the interwar years. While much attention has been paid by historians to post-war architectural reconstruction after 1945, the earlier developments of the interwar period (1919-1939) have been comparatively overlooked. This volume reveals how the architectural developments of this period not only provided important foundations for what happened after 1945 – they are also of real significance in their own right. Sixteen essays written by leading and emerging scholars bring together new and diverse approaches to the period – a period of reconstruction, fraught with the challenges of modernity and democratisation. The collection considers the complex effects of reconstruction on design, discourse, practice, and professionalism, and deals with the full spectrum of architectural styles and approaches, privileging neither Modernism nor traditional styles like the neo-Georgian. It brings to the fore social and political histories of the built environment, and makes important postcolonial interventions into the architectural history of British Imperialism at home and in its far reaches; in Cairo, South Africa, Australia, and India.