Insights from the civil-military integration during COVID-19 pandemic: a bibliometric assessment

The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered an era of unprecedented global challenges, necessitating innovative and collaborative solutions. One such approach, widely adopted by nations has been the extension and implementation of the total defence (TD) concept. This holistic strategy is utilized the wartime conditions and involves the coordinated efforts of civil and military entities while engaging both public and private sectors. While this initiative has proven effective on the global stage, the pre-existing equilibrium between civil and military structures has yielded diverse outcomes across various avenues including societies and economies. Therefore, the principal objective of this research is to delve deeply into the complex dynamics of civil-military relationships in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic across different nations. To accomplish this, we employ a hybrid methodology, combining bibliometric analysis and a systematic literature review of thirty-eight articles sourced from Scopus. The findings are reinforced by qualitative research tools including thematic analysis and natural language processing using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC), enabling the extraction of underlying insights and observations. The findings highlighted that as current pandemic crisis diminishes, it becomes imperative to further explore and scrutinize these finding globally to enhance preparedness for potential future catastrophes. The study uncovers increased outreach of China during pandemic, hinting transition towards from unipolar to multipolar realities. There is a need to focus on mitigating the risk of the Kindleberger Trap via successful integration of the lessons and practices learned during pandemic. The study also sheds light on the implications of total defence implementation and discerns variations across cultures and economies, offering valuable lessons for future crisis management strategies.